ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Asil Nadir

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what recent estimate the Serious Fraud Office has made of assets hidden from prosecutors by Asil Nadir.

Oliver Heald: Following the collapse of Polly Peck International plc in 1990, Asil Nadir was made bankrupt in 1991. Since that time the trustee in bankruptcy identified some assets and it is believed that some monies were paid to creditors. A court order prevented the trustee in bankruptcy from providing much information to the Serious Fraud Office.
	After Asil Nadir's conviction, the SFO applied for compensation to the administrators of Polly Peck International plc. The sum applied for represented the monies he had been convicted of stealing i.e. £28,891,911 plus compound interest. The judge ordered Asil Nadir to set out details of his assets and those of his family in a Financial Circumstances Order. In response, the defendant claimed he had no assets and that he was dependent on the generosity of friends and family. The SFO provided evidence to the court that Asil Nadir had access to wealth since his return to the UK in 2010, as he had apparently spent more than £3.8 million.
	After hearing evidence, the judge concluded on 2 November 2012 that the defendant had financial resources acquired after the appointment of the trustee in bankruptcy but which he had not disclosed to the trustee in bankruptcy or to the Court. However, the judge was unable to put a value on these resources as there was no evidence available in that regard.
	He ordered the defendant to pay £5 million in compensation. If the sum were not paid within two years, the judge ordered that up to a maximum of six additional years in prison should be served in default. The money was subsequently paid.

Social Networking: Prosecutions

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Attorney-General whether he plans to respond to the Director of Public Prosecution's interim guidelines on prosecuting cases involving communications sent via social media.

Oliver Heald: Neither I nor the Attorney-General have any plans to respond formally to the Director of Public Prosecution's (DPP) consultation on interim guidelines on prosecuting cases involving communications sent via social media. The DPP has kept me informed during the development of the interim guidelines and consultation, and I will ensure that matters raised with me on the subject, including those that have been raised by the hon. Gentleman, are communicated to the DPP.

SCOTLAND

Scottish Employability Forum

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland pursuant to the answer of 7 February 2013, Official Report, column 367W, on manufacturing industries, if he will publish the dates of future meetings of the Scottish Employability Forum.

David Mundell: The next meeting of the Scottish Employability Forum is scheduled for 5 September 2013 and the Forum will be scheduled thereafter on a six monthly basis. The minutes of the first meeting are available on the Scotland Office website.

Written Questions

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the procedure and sign-off process for responding to parliamentary questions in his Department includes review by special advisers.

David Mundell: Ministers are responsible and accountable for all answers to parliamentary questions. Special Advisers may provide advice to Ministers, as outlined in the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers.

TRANSPORT

Cycling: Accidents

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the rise in cyclist casualties in the third quarter of 2012 compared with the same period in 2011; and what plans he has to address that issue.

Norman Baker: We take cycle safety very seriously and we are working hard to reduce the number of cyclist casualties. The rise in the number of cyclists seriously injured may be, at least in part, due to the increase in cycling we have seen in recent years and we will continue to progress initiatives to improve cycle safety.
	We have announced £107 million additional investment in cycling infrastructure over the last year including £35 million to tackle dangerous junctions for cyclists across the country. We launched a THINK! Cycle safety campaign last September and have also made it simpler for councils to put in place 20 mph zones and limits and install Trixi mirrors to improve the visibility of cyclists at junctions.

Motor Vehicles

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information his Department holds on the number of private hire wedding or funeral vehicle providers nationally.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport does not hold information on the number of wedding and funeral vehicle providers.

Railways: Fares

Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the reasons for the recent increase in rail fares in West Yorkshire by three per cent above inflation.

Norman Baker: For most train operators, the Government is restricting the permitted average increase on regulated rail fares for January 2013 and 2014 to 1 per cent above inflation, applying the same formula that was inherited from the previous administration.
	Within the Northern franchise agreement, West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (WYPTE) fares have a cap of RPI +3% from 2007 until 2013. WYPTE introduced this fares formula to fund additional capacity on local West Yorkshire rail services which it sponsors.

Road Traffic Control: South East

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to alleviate congestion on trunk roads in (a) the South East and (b) Brighton, Kemptown constituency.

Stephen Hammond: The Department for Transport is investing £3.3 billion on major road schemes during this Parliament and tackling pinch points through a dedicated £317 million fund. For the South East, the programme of major improvements includes upgrading junctions 5-7 and junctions 23-27 of the M25 to managed motorways. Managed motorways help relieve congestion by using technology to vary speed limits and allow the hard shoulder to be used as a running lane to create additional capacity. The agency is currently progressing plans to implement ‘free-flow’ charging on the M25 at the Dartford river crossing to reduce congestion.
	Also, the South East will benefit from a major scheme to upgrade 2.5 miles of the A23 trunk road just south of Gatwick airport on the main route between London and Brighton. This will be completed next year and will reduce congestion, improve journey time reliability and improve road safety. Improvements to the A21 trunk road are being planned between Tonbridge and Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent, with work potentially starting in 2015.
	The national pinch point programme will deliver more than 65 new schemes by 2015. Nine of these are planned for the South East and include improvements to the network on the A34, A27, A3 and A404 trunk roads.
	Alongside network improvements, the Highways Agency's programmes for maintenance, traffic management, incident response and travel information all address congestion problems across the strategic road network.

Roads: Standards

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to encourage local authorities to improve the quality of residential roads.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport expects local highway authorities to provide high-quality, attractive and inclusive streets that work for everyone. Accessible public transport and a barrier-free pedestrian environment are fundamental to delivering that commitment and we encourage local authorities to reflect good practice in street design, and reduce street clutter.
	The Department for Transport also endorses guidance to local highway authorities through channels such as Well-Maintained Highways, the Code of Practice for highways maintenance produced by the UK Roads Liaison Group. The Code advises local authorities to establish an inspection regime for their highways and recommends inspection intervals for the various categories of highways. The Code provides guidance on safety inspections and recommends that those defects that are likely to create danger or serious inconvenience should receive urgent attention. It can be viewed online via:
	http://www.ukroadsliaisongroup.org/en/UKRLG-and-boards/uk-roads-board/wellmaintained-highways.cfm
	The Department for Transport is providing £3 billion to local authorities for highways maintenance from 2011 to 2015. In addition and in recognition of highway damage caused by the severe winter weather of 2010/11, in March 2011 the Department allocated an additional £200 million to local authorities. The Department for Transport also announced in December 2012, a further £215 million for highways maintenance to be allocated over the next two financial years to 2014/15.
	This Coalition Government recognises the need for more effective and efficient highways maintenance over the longer-term. In April 2011 Ministers announced that the Department is providing £6 million for a sector led Highways Maintenance Efficiency Programme to look at longer-term maintenance strategies. This Programme is providing practical and adaptable efficiency solutions, so local authorities can make more informed local investment decisions to support their local community and economy.

Shipping: Registration

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of recent progress made by Category 1 members of the Red Ensign Group in ratifying the Maritime Labour Convention 2006.

Stephen Hammond: The Department for Transport is monitoring progress by the Category 1 members of the Red Ensign Group, and working with those intending to ratify the convention to ensure that their legislation is in line with the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 and with United Kingdom policy.
	The current position is:
	Bermuda—draft legislation has been reviewed by the United Kingdom and the Bermuda administration is considering comments.
	British Virgin Islands-intends to adopt United Kingdom implementing legislation through an Enactment Order.
	Cayman Islands—legislation is under development.
	Gibraltar—draft legislation submitted for consideration by UK.
	Isle of Man—legislation being prepared for submission, via the Attorney-General's Office, to the United Kingdom for review.

Shipping: Registration

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether Category 2 members of the Red Ensign Group are required to ratify the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 in full.

Stephen Hammond: No. It is a decision for each administration whether they implement the provisions of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC). When the United Kingdom is ready to ratify the MLC, ratification will be extended to those REG administrations of either Category 1 or Category 2 which the UK is satisfied are compliant with the convention.

Shipping: Registration

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has provided advice to (a) Category 1 and (b) Category 2 members of the Red Ensign Group on the ratification process for the Maritime Labour Convention 2006.

Stephen Hammond: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has hosted a number of discussions on the implementation and ratification of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC) at the Red Ensign Group conference and intervening technical forums since 2008.
	A representative of the Red Ensign Group (REG) attends the MCA's tripartite working group which advises on implementation of the MLC, and papers are circulated to all members for information, as are all consultation documents on the United Kingdom's implementing legislation.
	The MCA has provided training to REG surveyors on MLC flag state and port state inspections.
	In addition, the MCA has corresponded with individual administrations on specific issues as the need arises, and is reviewing draft implementing legislation produced by REG administrations in order to advise on compliance.

Shipping: Registration

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many ships are currently registered under each (a) Category 1 and (b) Category 2 member of the Red Ensign Group.

Stephen Hammond: Based on the statistics provided by individual Red Ensign Group (REG) registers, the total combined Red Ensign fleet stands at 10,761 vessels and a gross tonnage (GT) of 50,092,295. The following table provides the breakdown of the British commercial fleet between the different REG registers:
	
		
			 REG Member Number of Vessels Total GT 
			 Category 1 Registers   
			 UK 8,557 18,206,901 
			 Isle of Man 534 13,806,467 
			 Bermuda 184 12,419,552 
			 Cayman Islands 464 3,597,868 
			 Gibraltar 303 1,993,419 
			 British Virgin Islands 75 11,709 
			    
			 Category 2 Registers   
			 Falkland Islands 28 45,428 
			 Jersey 210 3,076 
			 Guernsey 213 2,788 
			 Anguilla 171 2,728 
			 St Helena 2 1,387 
			 Turks and Caicos Islands 17 862 
			 Montserrat 3 110

Transport: Schools

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on the provision of school transport from summer 2013 following the raising of the education leaving age; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: In September 2011 I met the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton), formerly the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families, to discuss travel to school. I attended the Department for Education round table meetings about school transport in March, May and June 2012. In December 2012 I met the Minister of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Yeovil (Mr Laws), to discuss home to school transport.
	The Government is increasing the age to which all young people in England must continue in education or training, requiring them to continue until the end of the academic year in which they turn 17 from 2013 and until their 18th( )birthday from 2015.
	The responsibility for post-16 transport support is with local authorities. The authorities have a legal duty to set out in a transport statement the arrangements they consider necessary to enable young people to attend post-16 education. The Government recognises that some students find it difficult to pay for education-related costs, and this is one of the reasons why it introduced the 16-19 Bursary Fund. Local authorities and providers are encouraged to work together to ensure that post-16 transport support, and the 16-19 Bursary Fund are used effectively together to help meet transport costs.

Written Questions: Government Responses

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to answer question 144633, tabled by the hon. Member for Blaydon on 14 February 2013 for answer on 25 February.

Stephen Hammond: This question was answered on 28 February 2013, Official Report, column 586W.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

US-EU Free Trade Agreement

Stephen Mosley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on President Obama’s proposals for a US-EU free trade agreement; and if he will make a statement.

William Hague: I welcome President Obama’s endorsement of a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. The Prime Minister raised this with President Obama before the announcement. An EU-US trade agreement would be worth over £50 billion to the economies of EU member states.

Syria

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with senior representatives of the Syrian National Council.

William Hague: I met Sheikh Moaz al-Khatib, leader of the Syrian National Coalition, at the Friends of Syria meeting in Rome on 28 February. We are determined to increase our assistance to the National Coalition to help save more lives in Syria. I will make a statement on this tomorrow (6 March).

North Korea

Mel Stride: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government are taking in response to North Korea’s recent nuclear test.

Hugo Swire: We are currently working with partners in the UN Security Council to agree a robust response to North Korea's nuclear test; just as we secured following North Korea's recent ‘satellite’ launch. I also summoned the North Korean ambassador to the FCO last month to express the UK's strong condemnation of the test. We are working with EU partners on strengthening the EU's sanctions regime on the DPRK.

Afghanistan

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Afghan authorities on the protection of British civilian and military personnel after 2014.

Alistair Burt: The safety and security of British personnel in Afghanistan is our top priority. We regularly engage with the Afghan Government on this issue. Although we have not determined the extent of our post 2014 presence, we will ensure that all British personnel are suitably protected.

Afghanistan

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether, during his recent discussions with Afghanistan Defence Minister Mohammadi, he raised the issue of respect for women's rights and protection of women's security by the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF); and whether the UK provides funding or support for training on the Elimination of Violence Against Women Law to ANSF personnel.

Alistair Burt: The full participation of women in all aspects of Afghan society is fundamental to securing a stable and prosperous future Afghanistan, and the UK has been forthright in its promotion. We therefore regularly raise respect for women's rights and protection of women's security with the Afghan Government. In December last year the Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening), raised the issue with President Karzai.
	Implementation of the Afghan Elimination of Violence Against Women Law (EVAW) was specifically included in the Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework, the partnership between the Afghan Government and the international community.
	The UK, along with our international partners, continues to look at how best we might support the Afghan Government as they seek to implement the EVAW Law. Our £7.1 million assistance to the Ministry of the Interior goes in part towards helping to improve the Afghan National Police's role in protecting and upholding women's rights. It also supports the development of Afghan policy on promoting human rights and protecting women from violence. UK training to the Afghan National Security Forces is delivered as part of the NATO training mission. Respect for human rights is always a component in this training and a consideration when UK military and police personnel are mentoring their Afghan colleagues. UK police officers working in the European Union Police Mission Afghanistan (EUPOL) developed and support the delivery of a Prevention of Violence Against Women course.

Chagos Islands

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to enable Chagossians to return to the Chagos Islands.

Mark Simmonds: The European Court of Human Rights decision in December gives us the chance to take stock of our policy on the British Indian Ocean Territory. We will be as positive as possible in our engagement with Chagossian groups and all interested parties, but we should be clear there are fundamental difficulties with resettlement.

Cyprus

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the prospects for a just and fair solution to the Cyprus problem.

David Lidington: The UK is committed to a settlement by Cypriots for Cypriots which will deliver a stable, prosperous and united Cyprus.

British Overseas Territories

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs over how many financial years the Overseas Territories Jubilee Programme is expected to last.

Mark Simmonds: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Jubilee Programme was created in FY 2012-13 to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen. Its purpose is to support public servants from the Territories to get training and work experience in the UK, and for specialists from the UK to work in the Territories. The FCO will continue the programme in FY 2013-14. The future of FCO expenditure on strategic programmes will be considered carefully in the next spending round.

British Overseas Territories

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much funding was allocated to the Overseas Territories Jubilee Programme in each year for which figures are available.

Mark Simmonds: The Jubilee Programme was launched to coincide with the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen. It received £571,000 during FY 2012-13, its first year. This funding was in addition to and separate from the small discretionary programme budgets allocated to governors each financial year.
	Before and during their deployment governors can draw on the wide range of FCO learning and development resources available both in London and from regional learning and development teams overseas; and on the opportunities offered by the cross-Whitehall provider, Civil Service Learning.

British Overseas Territories

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what level of funding has been allocated to projects aiming to build capacity in civil society in the UK Overseas Territories in the years 2010-2015.

Mark Simmonds: The governor of each of the populated Overseas Territories has a small project budget that is used to support Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) objectives, including projects to build capacity in civil society.
	The sums allocated totalled the following:
	
		
			 FY £ 
			 2010-11 244,000 
			 2011-12 440,000 
			 2012-13 533,000 
		
	
	Structural changes to the Overseas Territories Strategic Programme Fund from 2011 onwards saw increased sums being devolved to governors giving them greater flexibility to approve these types of projects.
	Funding allocations for FYs 2014-15 and 2015-16 have yet to be determined. Additionally the FCO's environmental programme has provided some funds that build capacity.

British Overseas Territories

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what specific training is provided to UK Overseas Territories' governors (a) before they are deployed and (b) during their deployment.

Mark Simmonds: Governors are offered a comprehensive range of support and training for their postings. Each pre-posting programme will be based on individual needs. However, in general, the pre-posting programme will include calls with territory experts and key contacts both inside and outside the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO); briefings on core responsibilities; and a three-day course that focuses on leading and developing people and teams overseas. We offer additional training on resilience for those going to very small posts and other challenging environments. Governors are also offered learning opportunities on overseas territory specific issues—including disaster management, financial services and criminal justice.
	Before and during their deployment governors can draw on the wide range of FCO learning and development resources available both in London and from regional learning and development teams overseas; and on the opportunities offered by the cross-Whitehall provider, Civil Service Learning.

British Overseas Territories

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many full-time equivalent civil servants in his Department are working on matters related to the UK Overseas Territories.

Mark Simmonds: There are approximately 65 full- time equivalent civil servants working for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on overseas territories matters. This figure includes British, UK-based civil servants only—it does not include locally hired staff in the Overseas Territories some of whom are employed directly by the Government of the territory.

Republic of Ireland

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the priorities of the Irish presidency.

David Lidington: Both the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), and I regularly discuss current EU business with counterparts during the course of our normal diplomatic relations, and are fully supportive of the Irish presidency programme.

Sudan

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when his Department's website pages for Sudan (a) were last and (b) will be updated. [R]

Mark Simmonds: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) maintains a travel advice webpage for Sudan, which was last updated on 7 February 2013. This advice is reviewed and updated or republished as required by changing circumstances. Our embassy in Khartoum also has a 'UK in Sudan' page giving information about UK policy and activities in Sudan, which is updated regularly.

Sudan

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Sudanese Government in relation to British humanitarian aid workers being expelled from Sudan.

Mark Simmonds: We are not aware of any foreign humanitarian aid workers who have recently been expelled from Sudan. We are, however, aware of a number of recent closures of humanitarian programmes run by international non-governmental organisations in Eastern Sudan in 2012, which was a worrying step by the Government. Sudan has a history of expelling foreign aid workers. With the UN and other partners we consistently raise our concerns with the Government of Sudan, pressing them to fulfil their international commitments to allow full humanitarian access. When the Under-Secretary of State for International Development, the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Lynne Featherstone), visited Sudan in January she conveyed these messages to the Government of Sudan.

TREASURY

Air Passenger Duty

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the potential effect on tourism of abolishing air passenger duty;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the aviation industry of abolishing air passenger duty.

Sajid Javid: The Chancellor keeps all taxes under review and considers them in the round. Budget 2012 set out air passenger duty rates from 1 April 2013, which will rise in line with inflation.

Air Passenger Duty

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the increasing cost of air passenger duty on all diaspora communities in the UK such as those from African and Caribbean communities; and what plans he has to address this.

Sajid Javid: The Government have limited the rise in air passenger duty (APD) to inflation over the period 2010-11 to 2012-13. Budget 2012 set out rates from April 2013, which will also only rise in line with inflation, ensuring that level of APD will again remain constant in real terms. The Government have also taken other action to help reduce the cost of living, including announcing successive increases in the personal allowance. As a result, over 2.2 million individuals with low incomes will be taken out of income tax altogether.

Corporation Tax

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of the lowering of the rate of corporation tax on the UK's inward investment.

David Gauke: The Government aim to create the most competitive tax regime in the G20, to encourage inward investment and support growth. The main rate of corporate tax has been reduced from 28% in 2010 to 24% in April last year, and will then fall to 23% this April and 21% in April 2014, when the UK will have the lowest corporation tax rate in the G7 and the fourth lowest in the G20.
	Reforms to the corporate tax regime have made the UK more competitive, stemming the flow of businesses leaving and encouraging companies to come back, such as WPP, or to move here for the first time, such as Lancashire (insurance company) and Rowan.

Local Government: Liverpool

John Pugh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how City Deal funding will be spent in the Liverpool City region; and how much of that money has been (a) committed and (b) spent in the Merseyside region.

Greg Clark: I am answering this as Minister responsible for City Deals. City Deals were not designed to be about new resources but about devolving existing powers and budgets from the national to the local level to unlock economic growth. Many of the proposals in the deal focus on this.
	As part of the City Deal process the Government, through the Department for Communities and Local Government, have agreed to contribute £75 million to support economic development in the city. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has also agreed to contribute £5 million to the Liverpool International Festival of Business. There will be a future revenue cost associated with the enterprise zone which is currently being finalised.
	This Government are clear and united in our ambition to decentralise and disperse power in our society. Therefore, wherever possible we have not prescribed to cities how and where to spend the money.

Local Government: Liverpool

John Pugh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been (a) committed and (b) spent in the Merseyside region as a result of the awarding of the Liverpool City region as part of the City Deal initiative.

Greg Clark: I am answering this as Minister responsible for City Deals. City Deals are not designed to be about new resources but about devolving existing powers and budgets from the national to the local level to unlock economic growth. Much of the proposals in the deal focus on this.
	As part of the City Deal process the Government, through the Department for Communities and Local Government, have agreed to contribute £75 million to support economic development in the city. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has also agreed to contribute £5 million to the Liverpool International Festival of Business.
	This Government are clear and united in our ambition to decentralise and disperse power in our society. Therefore, wherever possible we have not prescribed to cities how and where to spend the money.

Monetary Policy

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been spent on quantitative easing in each year for which data are available; and who the biggest beneficiaries were from quantitative easing.

Greg Clark: The independent Monetary Policy Committee's (MPC) policy tools, including bank rate and quantitative easing (QE), are macroeconomic policy tools designed to affect the economy as a whole, in order to meet the 2% inflation target over the medium term.
	Under quantitative easing the Bank of England purchases assets financed by the issuance of central bank reserves. These have primarily been £375 billion worth of gilts, largely from non-bank financial institutions, including insurance companies and pension funds, which use the money received to purchase other assets such as corporate bonds and equities. The Bank has also purchased a small amount of private sector assets, mainly corporate bonds.
	More information on the completed purchases can be found on the Bank of England website at the following web link:
	http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/markets/apf/results.htm

Copyright

Therese Coffey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects his Department to consent to the laying of the draft Implementation of the Online Infringement of Copyright (Initial Obligations) (Sharing of Costs) Order 2012.

Sajid Javid: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has responsibility for the draft Implementation of the Online Infringement of Copyright (Initial Obligations) (Sharing of Costs) Order. The order will therefore be laid at a time determined appropriate by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, following cross-Government clearance. The original scheme commencement date of 1 March 2014 has not changed.

PAYE

Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individual PAYE records from the Real Time Information pilot have been (a) hash matched and (b) not hash matched in each month since the pilot started.

David Gauke: I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave on 17 December 2012, Official Report, column 563W.
	HMRC are currently collating the data for subsequent months and these data are therefore not available at this time.

PAYE

Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the significant classes of error occurring in the PAYE Real Time Information pilot so far and indicate (a) the proportion of PAYE records affected, (b) the likely source or sources of the errors, (c) whether the error will make the record unusable, or unusable for certain purposes, (d) whether his Department will seek to correct the error and (e) how any transactions affected by the record will be handled in the interim.

David Gauke: The RTI pilot will run until 5 April 2012. HMRC plans to complete its evaluation of the RTI pilot in summer 2013 and intends to publish a summary of the outcomes.

Revenue and Customs

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many HM Revenue and Customs employees worked on preventing the importation of (a) controlled drugs, (b) illegal firearms, (c) illicit alcohol and (d) illicit tobacco in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13 to date; and if he will make a statement.

Sajid Javid: All of the information requested is not available.
	Since 1 April 2009 operational responsibility for detecting controlled drugs, illegal firearms, illicit alcohol and tobacco at UK frontiers has rested with the UK Border Agency/Force.
	Around 206 HMRC officers are engaged in the gathering of intelligence on alcohol and tobacco movements, in order to facilitate the seizure of illicit consignments being imported to the UK.
	Both activities are elements of the UK's holistic response to tackling tobacco and alcohol fraud, detailed in the joint HMRC and UKBA tackling tobacco smuggling strategy and HMRC's “Tackling Alcohol Fraud” strategy.

Staff

Diana Johnson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff his Department employed in each of the past five years; how many such staff were employed in London; how many such staff were employed in other regions of England; how many posts moved from London to these regions; and what steps he is taking to move his staff to regional offices.

Sajid Javid: The number of staff employed by HM Treasury in London and its other offices in each of the past five years (listed as full-time equivalent (FTE) staff) is set out in the following table:
	
		
			 As at the 31(st) each month London Norwich Scotland 
			 March 2009 1,182 61 0 
			 March 2010 1,299 51 0 
			 March 2011 1,209 40 0 
			 March 2012 1,143 34 0 
			 January 2013 1,091 38 1 
		
	
	Fewer than five posts have moved from London to our regional offices in the last five years. Although HM Treasury does not have any current plans to move posts from London to the regions, staff continue to be employed in those offices. Staffing requirements in these offices are kept under review in the light of business requirements with a view to offering the best policy advice and value for money for the Department.

Staff

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many full-time equivalent staff in his Department are working on the growth review.

Sajid Javid: The information is not held centrally. A range of officials in the Treasury and across Whitehall support Ministers in the formulation and implementation of growth policy, including in relation to the growth review.

Welfare Tax Credits

Paul Goggins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how much was lost by HM Revenue and Customs through error and fraud in the administration of tax credits in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to reduce error and fraud in the administration of tax credits.

Sajid Javid: holding answer 4 March 2013
	I would draw the right hon. Gentleman's attention to the Comptroller and Auditor General's report ‘Tackling tax credits error and fraud’ (HC891) published on 14 February 2013 and available at:
	http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/1213/tax_credits_error_and_fraud.aspx
	The latest available estimate of error and fraud is for 2010-11. This is shown in the following table along with values for the preceding four years. Although the value of error and fraud increased in 2010-11, the general trend since HMRC introduced its Tax Credits Error and Fraud Strategy in April 2009 has been downwards. When looked at as the proportion of total tax credits entitlement paid out incorrectly, error and fraud has fallen from 8.9% in 2008-09, prior to the strategy, to 8.1 % in 2010-11.
	
		
			 Value of claimant favour error and fraud in tax credits, 2006-07 to 2010-11 
			  Value of claimant favour error and fraud (£ million) 
			 2006-07 1,420 
			 2007-08 1,790 
			 2008-09 2,110 
			 2009-10 2,060 
			 2010-11 2,270 
			 Source: Child and Working Tax Credits Error and Fraud Statistics publications from 2006-07 to 2010-11. 2010-11 is available on the HMRC website at: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/fin-error-stats.htm

Written Questions

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the procedure and sign-off process for responding to parliamentary questions in his Department includes review by special advisers.

Sajid Javid: Ministers are responsible and accountable for all answers to parliamentary questions. Special Advisers may provide advice to Ministers, as outlined in the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers

DEFENCE

Armed Forces

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  which Ministers have attended meetings of the Cabinet sub-Committee on Armed Forces and Veterans since May 2010;
	(2)  how often and on what dates the Cabinet sub- Committee on Armed Forces and Veterans has met since February 2012.

Andrew Robathan: The Home Affairs Armed Forces Covenant sub-Committee has met five times since it was established in February 2012. However, it is established practice not to disclose the attendance or dates of the meetings or the agendas of Cabinet and Cabinet Committees, in order to allow frank discussions between Ministers and to protect the principle of collective agreement.
	The membership, and terms of reference, of the Home Affairs Armed Forces Covenant sub-Committee is available from the Cabinet Office website:
	https://update.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/sites/default/files/resources/Cabinet_Committee_Membership_Lists_Sept_2012.pdf

Armed Forces: Maintenance

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to increase the use of deduction orders in 2012-13.

Andrew Robathan: Deduction from earnings orders are instigated by the Child Support Agency (CSA), not the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and I am therefore not in a position to increase their use.
	The MOD has a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the CSA to facilitate the direct deduction of child maintenance payments from pay of non-resident parents who are service personnel.
	Where a parent asks the CSA to help to obtain appropriate child support from a non-resident parent who is a service person, the MOD will assist the CSA in engaging with that service person. Legislation prevents the CSA from making an order against the pay of a service person, but under the MOU, the MOD will seek to implement any deduction from earnings request submitted by the CSA.
	Under the terms of the MOU, if a service person is committed to operations the commanding officer may delay any engagement with the CSA until such time as the non-resident parent is in a position to consider any papers that the CSA may send them and respond appropriately.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to increase the number of armed forces' visits to schools and colleges in Scotland following the closure of armed forces recruitment offices in Scotland.

Andrew Robathan: There are no plans to increase the number of armed forces' visits to schools and colleges in Scotland. Visits to schools and colleges are carried out only at the invitation of the establishment, with the aim of supporting the school curriculum and improving awareness of the range of available career opportunities in the armed forces.

Depleted Uranium

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 6 February 2013, Official Report, column 234W, on depleted uranium, whether the life extension programme for the CHARM-3 propellant charge is a one-off process or whether regular testing of the charge will be required in the future.

Philip Dunne: Regular testing of the CHARM 3 propellant charge will continue to be undertaken while the ammunition remains in service.

Gambia

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of progress by the British Military Advisory Training Team in the Gambia;
	(2)  how many of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment training troops in the Gambia are (a) Army personnel and (b) Territorial Army personnel.

Andrew Robathan: We do not have a British Military Advisory Training Team (BMATT) in the Gambia. However, since 2006 the Royal Gibraltar Regiment has provided twice yearly short-term training teams (STTT) to help the Gambian Armed Forces (GAF) prepare for deployment to the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).
	The nature of the training that the Gibraltar Regiment provides has changed over the past 18 months from directly training the Gambian contingent to the delivery of support to the Gambian training school and train-the-trainer activity with the Gambian instructors. A team consisting of four regular Gibraltar Regiment personnel and a Royal Navy doctor will conduct the next iteration of training in March 2013, delivering train-the-trainer activity and concurrently helping the Gambian staff to prepare the next company for deployment to Darfur. This will be the final iteration of training which has delivered a core of instructors at the Gambian training school capable of preparing the GAF for deployment on basic peace support operations.

Military Bases: Bye Laws

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many prosecutions have been brought following breaches of the military land byelaws on the US bases at (a) Menwith Hill, (b) Lakenheath, (c) Molesworth and (e) RAF Fylingdales since 2011; and how many such prosecutions have been successful.

Andrew Robathan: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by the Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans, my right hon. Friend the Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois), on 12 February 2013, Official Report, column 633W.

Military Exercises

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what assets and how many service personnel are taking part in Operation Western Zephyr;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of Operation Western Zephyr.

Andrew Robathan: Exercise Western Zephyr was a squadron level bi-lateral training exercise between the RAF and the US Air Force.
	Nine Typhoon aircraft and around 180 personnel participated in Exercise Western Zephyr. The cost is estimated to be approximately £550,000.

NATO

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 11 February 2013, Official Report, column 443, on NATO, whether NATO makes recommendations in relation to the location of Quick Reaction Alert I assets within the UK.

Andrew Robathan: No.

RAF Menwith Hill

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the two space-based infra-red system radomes at the American base at NSA Menwith Hill became operational.

Andrew Robathan: The space-based infra-red system at RAF Menwith Hill achieved operational status during 2011.

RAF Menwith Hill

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost was to Ministry of Defence police of patrolling the American base at NSA Menwith Hill between 2000 and 2012.

Andrew Robathan: I am withholding the cost of the Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) deployed at RAF Menwith Hill for the purpose of safeguarding national security, since it would indicate the strength of the MDP presence and prejudice national security.

Staff

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff his Department employed in each of the past five years; how many such staff were employed in London; how many such staff were employed in other regions of England; how many posts moved from London to these regions; and what steps he is taking to move his staff to regional offices.

Andrew Robathan: The figures requested are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 MOD civilian strength at 1 April each year 
			  2008 2009 2010 20U 2012 
			 Global 89,500 86,620 85,850 83,060 71,010 
			 London 5,390 4,980 4,700 4,570 3,960 
			 East of England 6,550 6.370 6,190 5,510 4.600 
			 East Midlands 2,470 2,450 2,500 2,380 1,900 
		
	
	
		
			 North East 510 490 490 450 330 
			 North West 2,540 2,520 2,460 2,250 1,900 
			 South East 14,830 13,790 13,530 13,400 11,550 
			 South West 21,610 22,010 22,570 21,690 18,100 
			 West Midlands 4,950 4,400 4,630 4,490 3,970 
			 Yorkshire/Humber 3,730 3,830 3,870 3,720 3,230 
			 Notes: 1.( )Global number includes core MOD trading funds personnel, locally employed civilians and Royal Feet Auxiliary personnel. Regional breakdown figures exclude locally employed civilians and Royal Fleet Auxiliary personnel. Civilian figures are reported in full-time equivalent terms. 2. Figures are rounded where appropriate. 
		
	
	With regard to posts moving from London to the regions, this information is not held in the format requested.
	Under Lord Levene's Defence Reform recommendations to create a smaller, more strategic head office and delegate more authority to empowered service commands we are transferring more than 100, predominantly military, posts from Main Building in Whitehall to the Fleet, Land, and Air Headquarters in Portsmouth, Andover, and High Wycombe and to the new Joint Force Command Headquarters in Northwood in north London. This is part of the wider reduction in the size of the Head Office from around 2,400 people in 2011-12 to fewer than 1,600 in 2015-16.

Staff

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence from which units civilian personnel have left his Department since May 2010.

Andrew Robathan: The information is not held in the format requested. The following table shows the number of civilian leavers, by each of the Department's top level budget (TLB) areas and trading funds since April 2010. This information is available from the quarterly civilian personnel report, outflow on the DASA website:
	www.dasa.mod.uk
	
		
			  1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012 1 April 2012 to 31 January 2013 
			 MOD Main—leavers by TLB    
			 Navy Command 110 390 130 
			 Land Forces 1,420 2,120 1,510 
			 HQ Air Command 550 1,980 760 
			 Central TLB 1,000 2,230 n/a 
			 Head Office and Corporate Services n/a n/a 1,100 
			 Chief of Joint Operations 10 160 n/a 
			 Joint Forces Command n/a n/a 280 
			 Defence Equipment and Support 1,240 1,810 1,540 
			 Defence Infrastructure Organisation 120 740 140 
			 Science Innovation and Technology n/a n/a n/a 
			 Unallocated 10 — — 
			     
			 Trading funds leavers    
			 Defence Science and Technology Laboratory 330 320 330 
			 Defence Support Group 280 640 60 
			 Hydrographic Office 60 70 40 
			 Meteorological Office 140 1,910 n/a 
			     
			 MOD total leavers 5,270 12,360 5,910 
			 Notes: 1. MOD total leavers include all permanent, casual and trading funds civilian personnel, but excludes all Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) and locally engaged civilian (LEC) personnel. 2. Head Office and Corporate Services (HO&CS) and Joint Forces Command (JFC) were established as at 1 April 2012, the Central TLB (CTLB) and Chief of Joint Operations (CJO) were disestablished as at 1 April 2012. Although established as at 1 April 2012, HO&CS and JFC were not the CTLB and CJO renamed. The composition of the two new TLBs is such that it is not possible for any meaningful comparisons to be made with the CTLB and CJO. 3. Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) was established on 1 April 2011 and replaced the Defence Estates organisation. DIO includes TLB property and facilities management functions previously situated within other TLBs, DIO title structure has been applied retrospectively across data period for consistency of reporting. 4. The Science Innovation and Technology TLB (SIT) ceased to be a TLB as at 31 March 2010. Approx 90% of the personnel transferred to the Central TLB with the remainder transferring evenly to DE&S and Dstl. 5. Responsibility for the Meteorological Office was transferred to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) in October 2011. 6. Where rounding has been used, totals and sub-totals have been rounded separately and so may not equal the sums of their rounded parts. When rounding to the nearest 10, numbers ending in “5” have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. “—” denotes “0” or less than “6”.

Veterans: Mental Health Services

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department met the Secretary of State for Health or his Ministers to discuss (i) mental health provision for veterans and (ii) dementia among serving and former members of the armed forces in the last 12 months.

Andrew Robathan: Ministers in the Ministry of Defence (MOD) hold a wide range of meeting with colleagues from other Departments, both formal and informal. It is not therefore possible to state when meetings on a specific issue took place.
	The MOD and Department of Health have an excellent working relationship where armed forces personnel are concerned. During a debate on 6 December 2012, Minister of State for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans (Min(DPWV)), my right hon. Friend the Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois), outlined a number of areas in which work is being done to address the mental health needs of serving and former service personnel. These include structured mental health assessments, the national veteran's mental health network, and continued funding of research into post traumatic stress disorder at King's College by Professor Sir Simon Wesseley—with whom both I and Min(DPWV) have had several meetings.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Apprentices: Brigg and Goole

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many employers in Brigg and Goole constituency have received payment to take on their first young apprentice under the Government's incentive scheme since the inception of that scheme.

Matthew Hancock: The Apprenticeship Grant for Employers (AGE 16-24) provides payments of £1,500 to support smaller employers taking on new young apprentices aged 16 to 24.
	Provisional data show that between 1 February and 31 October 2012, 10(1) employer workplaces in Brigg and Goole parliamentary constituency received payment to take on their first apprentice under the AGE 16-24 scheme.
	(1) Figure rounded to the nearest 10.

Business: Advisory Services

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many business mentors in each region are currently available through the Government's national network of mentors.

Michael Fallon: The national network of 27,000 mentors, which includes the 15,000 mentor volunteers recruited through the Government-funded Get Mentoring project, is accessible via mentorsme.co.uk—the national portal owned and operated by the British Bankers' Association (BBA).
	Data on the 15,000 Get Mentoring volunteers by Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) area are:
	
		
			 Geographical spread of trained Get Mentoring volunteer mentors 
			 England (grouped by LEP) Number of mentors 
			 Black Country 277 
			 Buckinghamshire Thames Valley 61 
			 Cheshire and Warrington 221 
			 Coast to Capital 272 
			 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 121 
			 Coventry and Warwickshire 210 
			 Cumbria 113 
			 Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire 442 
			 Dorset 165 
			 Enterprise M3 229 
			 Gloucestershire 164 
			 Greater Birmingham and Solihull 615 
			 Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough 485 
			 Greater Lincolnshire 204 
			 Greater Manchester 875 
			 Heart of the South West 484 
			 Hertfordshire 372 
			 Humber 263 
			 Lancashire 423 
			 Leeds City Region 742 
			 Leicester and Leicestershire 180 
			 Liverpool City Region 448 
			 London 1,622 
			 New Anglia 543 
			 North Eastern 1,041 
			 Northamptonshire 148 
			 Oxfordshire 112 
			 Sheffield City Region 501 
			 Solent 206 
			 South East 682 
			 South East Midlands 364 
			 Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire 260 
			 Swindon and Wiltshire 165 
			 Tees Valley 352 
			 Thames Valley Berkshire 112 
			 The Marches 146 
			 West of England 338 
			 Worcestershire 153 
			 York, North Yorkshire and East Riding 369 
			 Total (England) 14,480 
			   
			 Rest of UK  
			 Scotland 567 
			 Wales 147 
			 Northern Ireland 111 
			 UK total 15,305

Business: Loans

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many successful applicants for funds under the Business Finance Partnership—Small Business Tranche are yet to agree legal and commercial terms.

Michael Fallon: For commercial reasons we are unable to provide this information. A further announcement on the Business Finance Partnership—Small Business Tranche will be made shortly.

Construction: Vetting

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what support his Department makes available to workers who were blacklisted by the Consulting Association in seeking financial compensation for loss of earnings.

Jo Swinson: Blacklisting is an abhorrent practice. That is why, in response to the findings of the investigation by the Information Commissioner's Office into the Consulting Association, the Government legislated in 2010 to prohibit the use of blacklists. Under the Employment Relations Act 1999 (Blacklists) Regulations 2010, individuals who believe they are being excluded from employment because of a blacklist should seek redress in the county courts in England and Wales, or Court of Session in Scotland. Other rights under these regulations and other legislation, such as the right not to be refused employment because of trade union membership, can be enforced in employment tribunals.
	For individuals who were blacklisted prior to 2010, their remedies lie under the Trade Union and Labour Relations Consolidation Act 1992. We understand that some complaints by workers listed by the Consulting Association have already been made to employment tribunals. Actions were also taken using protections under the Data Protection Act 1998, although these have now, to all intents and purposes, been exhausted with regard to the Consulting Association. Individuals who have been blacklisted by the Consulting Association may also seek redress in the courts: there is for example an ongoing class action against a number of construction employers.

Copyright Research Expert Advisory Group

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what evidence the Intellectual Property Office sought of members of the Copyright Research Expert Advisory Group of their ability to fulfil the following membership criteria (a) ability and willingness to work constructively with those of an opposing viewpoint and (b) expertise and breadth of knowledge of subject area; and what mechanisms are in place to ensure that members of the expert group continue to fit this criteria.

Jo Swinson: All those invited to join the Copyright Research Expert Advisory Group (CREAG) had previously demonstrated an ability and willingness to work constructively with those of an opposing viewpoint, as well as professional expertise and experience in developing and commenting on research methodologies and data. The IPO regularly reviews CREAG and its membership for its effectiveness and the contribution that individual members make in providing the IPO with independent, constructive and robust challenge to the existing and developing research work programme.

Energy: Industry

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 13 February 2013, Official Report, column 725W, on energy: industry, when he anticipates that sector strategies for the (a) automotive, (b) aerospace, (c) nuclear and (d) oil and gas and offshore wind industries will be published.

Michael Fallon: The industrial strategy sector strategies are being developed in collaboration with business. We expect that all 11 will be published by the end of summer 2013.

Glass: Bottles

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect of the economic recession on the glass bottling industry.

Michael Fallon: We have made no specific assessment. Working with business, we are taking steps to strengthen UK manufacturing, including the glass bottling industry, ensuring a better business environment that will address barriers to growth, encourage innovation and technology commercialisation, exports, business investment and improve skills, as well as build UK supply chains. We are also working to promote the image of manufacturing.

Minimum Wage

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many employers in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency, (b) Yorkshire and the Humber and (c) the UK have received a warning for non-payment of the minimum wage in the last fiscal year.

David Gauke: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Treasury.
	HMRC does not keep statistics by reference to town, county or constituency. Nationally, 665 employers have received a Notice of Underpayment of the minimum wage for the period from 1 April 2012 to 28 February 2013.

Motor Sports: Brecon Beacons National Park

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had on the development of an international motor sport circuit near to the Brecon Beacons National Park; and what information his Department has received on such plans.

Michael Fallon: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), has not held discussions about the proposed development of an international motorsport circuit in Wales. The Secretary of State did receive correspondence about a plan for a motor racing circuit at Ebbw Vale back in November 2011. I understand, from a recent conversation I held with the Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and European Programmes, that the Blaenau Gwent county borough council will consider a planning application for a motor circuit shortly.

New Businesses

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to his answer of 21 November 2012, Official Report, column 482W, on new businesses, by what date he expects the Entrepreneurs and Education Programme to have (a) engaged with 10,500 staff and (b) engaged with 80 per cent of student enterprise societies.

Michael Fallon: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 21 November 2012, Official Report, column 482W.

Regional Growth Fund

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the monetary value is of recycled funds from (a) the 45 Regional Growth Fund bids which have been withdrawn to date under rounds one, two and three and (b) projects or programmes from rounds one, two and three which have reduced in scope.

Michael Fallon: holding answer 4 March 2013
	The total value of the bids which have been withdrawn under all rounds of the Regional Growth Fund is £211 million. These funds have been recycled into the RGF pot.
	A further net amount of £27.5 million has also been recycled into the fund for projects and programmes where the final award has been reduced from the amount originally allocated by Ministers for a variety of reasons, including where projects and programmes have been reduced in scope.
	This funding will be recycled back into the RGF, including as part of the £350 million available to bidders in round 4.

Regional Growth Fund

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what (a) process and (b) safeguards he will put in place for judging whether awards under the Exceptional Regional Growth Fund align with the principles of the Regional Growth Fund (RGF); and whether this decision will be made by Government Ministers or the RGF Independent Advisory Panel.

Michael Fallon: Prospective applicants for exceptional Regional Growth Fund (eRGF) support need to demonstrate strong alignment with the RGF objectives to create private sector jobs and growth, particularly in those areas with a high dependency on public sector employment.
	The strength of alignment of each bid with the objectives of the fund will be evaluated through an economic appraisal of the information submitted in the application.
	My noble Friends Lord Heseltine and Lord Shipley will scrutinise all applications for eRGF support on behalf of the Independent Advisory Panel and make recommendations to Ministers. This will include advising Ministers on the alignment with the objectives of the RGF.
	Ministers will make all final decisions on eRGF support.

Regional Growth Fund

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what (a) process and (b) safeguards he will put in place for judging whether there is no routine chance to bid under the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) for firms securing awards under the exceptional Regional Growth Fund; and whether this decision will be made by Government Ministers or the RGF Independent Advisory Panel.

Michael Fallon: All prospective applicants for exceptional Regional Growth Fund (eRGF) support are strongly encouraged to apply to an open round of RGF.
	Where this is not practicable or possible, applicants will need to demonstrate the basis on which their application is time-limited.
	My noble Friends Lord Heseltine and Lord Shipley will scrutinise all applications for eRGF support on behalf of the Independent Advisory Panel and make recommendations to Ministers on the case for support. This will include consideration of the urgency of the application and whether a referral to an open round would be more appropriate.
	Ministers will make all final decisions on eRGF support.

Secondment

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2012, Official Report, column 739W, on secondment, from which other Government Departments members of staff were seconded in 2012-13.

Jo Swinson: The following table shows which Government Department members of staff were seconded into BIS from in 2012-13. These data include UK Trade and Investment.
	
		
			  Number 
			 Cabinet Office 5 
			 Department for Communities and Local Government 1 
			 Department for Education 3 
			 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 1 
			 Department for Transport 2 
			 Department for Work and Pensions 1 
			 Department of Health 1 
			 Defence Science and Technology Laboratory 1 
			 Foreign and Commonwealth Office 23 
			 HM Revenue and Customs 2 
			 HM Treasury 6 
			 Home Office 3 
			 Ministry of Defence 37 
			 Ministry of Justice 1 
			 Office for National Statistics 1 
			 Unknown 2 
			 Total 90

Students: Loans

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many student loans have been taken out by (a) UK students and (b) EU students in each year since the inception of student loans for tuition fees; how many students have made any repayments on the loans taken out in each such year; what the value was of such repayments; and if he will provide a breakdown of the number of EU students taking out loans, by nationality.

David Willetts: The information is as follows:
	Tuition fee loans
	Tuition fee loans became available to students in academic year 2006/07. Tuition fee loans are paid directly to higher education institutions (HEI) on behalf of students by the Student Loans Company (SLC). The following table provides details of the tuition fee loans paid to HEIs on behalf of students domiciled in England to study at HEIs in the UK, and EU domiciled students studying in England.
	
		
			 Table 1: Tuition fee loans paid by domicile of applicant academic years 2006/07 to 2011/12 
			  Number of tuition fee loans paid (thousand) Amount paid (£ million) 
			 Academic year English domiciled students EU (Outside UK) domiciled students English domiciled students EU (Outside UK) domiciled students 
			 2011/12 851.5 31.7 2736.3 103.9 
			 2010/11 797.5 27.9 2464.2 88.5 
			 2009/10 757.0 24.6 2267.8 76.4 
			 2008/09 675.9 21.1 1918.3 62.8 
			 2007/08 537.9 15.6 1344.1 44.5 
			 2006/07 388.7 8.8 784.1 23.7 
		
	
	The statistics are published each year by the Student Loans Company (SLC) in the publication “Student Support for Higher Education in England”. The latest publication is available via the following link and the relevant table is table 4B:
	http://www.slc.co.uk/media/525907/slcsfr052012.pdf
	Information on the nationality of applicants is not included in Table 1 as it is not held alongside payments information. As an alternative, Table 2 gives the number of EU-domiciled student support applicants who were awarded tuition fee loans according to the nationality they provided during the application process. The award of a loan will not always result in a payment so the totals in Table 2 are larger than in Table 1.
	The number of students taking out tuition fee loans and who are domiciled in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is a matter for the devolved Administrations.
	Repayments
	Information on repayments of income contingent repayment (ICR) loans is published on an annual basis in the Official Statistics Release “Income Contingent repayments by Repayment cohort and tax year 2001/01 to 2010/11 SLC OSP February 2012” at:
	http://www.slc.co.uk/media/333186/slcosp022012.pdf
	This provides information based on the date borrowers became liable to repay, and cannot be directly compared with the table above. Repayments data include English-domiciled borrowers who are repaying maintenance loans as well as tuition fee loans. Students from the EU can usually apply for tuition fee loans only. Only those EU nationals who have been resident in the UK and islands for three years, and also EEA students assessed as migrant workers, may be eligible to apply for living cost support.
	
		
			 Table 2: Number of EU domiciled(1) full-time student support applicants studying in England awarded tuition fee loan support by nationality(2)academic years 2006/07 to 2011/12 
			  Number of EU domiciled applicants 
			 Nationality of applicant 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 
			 Austria 90 160 180 200 220 230 
			 Belgium 90 160 210 220 240 240 
			 Bulgaria (3)— 340 870 1,580 2,250 2,950 
			 Cyprus 740 2,500 3,410 4,300 4,790 5,400 
			 Czech Republic 170 240 240 230 240 250 
			 Denmark 100 200 250 260 260 260 
			 Estonia 130 290 440 530 550 650 
			 Finland 180 360 440 430 450 450 
			 France 1,060 1,480 1,560 1,510 1,200 1,090 
			 Germany 960 1,680 2,010 2,060 2,010 2,010 
			 Greece 490 1,170 1,400 1,440 1,480 1,710 
			 Hungary 150 280 320 350 340 340 
			 Ireland 620 980 1,180 1,270 1,320 1,240 
			 Italy 230 470 600 720 850 1,010 
			 Latvia 260 550 730 930 1,200 1,280 
			 Lithuania 560 1,060 1,380 1,850 2,460 3,050 
			 Luxembourg 20 30 20 20 (3)— (3)— 
			 Malta 30 60 80 80 70 70 
			 Netherlands 130 240 270 280 270 260 
			 Poland 1,240 2,240 2,510 2,620 2,250 1,940 
			 Portugal 230 460 470 500 470 460 
			 Romania (3)— 340 910 1,620 2,570 3,520 
			 Slovakia 210 390 490 550 540 530 
			 Slovenia 20 50 60 60 50 50 
			 Spain 270 460 530 560 560 710 
			 Sweden 180 390 400 380 340 350 
			 United Kingdom 270 740 910 1,000 950 900 
			 Other nationality (outside EU) 160 290 360 400 410 450 
			 Nationality not available(4) 140 330 540 830 1,040 1,340 
		
	
	
		
			 Total 8,700 17,920 22,770 26,760 29,370 32,740 
			 (1) Applicants are ‘EU domiciled’ if they were ordinarily resident in the EU, EU overseas territories, elsewhere in the EEA or Switzerland for the three years immediately before the first day of the first academic year of your course. (2) Nationality is based on information collected during the application process for student support. (3) Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 applicants; numbers less than 15 but not zero. (4) Nationality is collected from all student support applicants though some have still to be classified in the management information database and so are “not available”. Note: Figures refer to the position on 31 August at end of each year academic year. Source: Student Loans Company Management Information

UK Trade and Investment

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many UK businesses have been supported by UK Trade and Investment in each year since 2010.

Michael Fallon: The number of businesses assisted by UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) to exploit overseas business opportunities, as published in the UKTI Annual Report and Accounts:
	http://www.ukti.gov.uk/uktihome/aboutukti/ourperformance/officialreports/departmentalreportresourceaccounts.html
	are as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year Target Businesses assisted 
			 2009/10 20,000 23,600 
			 2010/11 20,000 23,400 
			 2011/12 25,000 25,450 
		
	
	Figures for 2012/13 will be available shortly.

Weather: Northern Ireland

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills for what reason there is no cold weather alert system in place in Northern Ireland.

Michael Fallon: The Met Office is contracted by the Department of Health to provide the cold weather alert service in England.
	The Met Office could provide a similar service in Northern Ireland, but as a devolved matter this is for the responsible Department in the Northern Ireland Executive to decide.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Electricity

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what steps he plans to take to make it easier for smaller energy organisations to sell their electricity in the market;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with small energy suppliers on (a) simplifying trading and (b) training specialised staff;
	(3)  what steps he plans to take to ensure that electricity suppliers and gas suppliers benefit from equal trading conditions.

John Hayes: DECC Ministers meet regularly with stakeholders to discuss a range of issues.
	The UK's wholesale gas market displays high levels of participation from a range of market participants compared to other European markets. The Government, with Ofgem, are acting to encourage the development of a more diverse electricity market, helping small suppliers and generators to compete on a more equal footing with the larger organisations. Ofgem is taking forward proposals to address the low levels of liquidity in the wholesale electricity market and Government are seeking backstop powers to address low liquidity should Ofgem and industry efforts not deliver adequate improvements.
	Independent renewable developers have raised concerns that the long-term contracts (Power Purchase Agreement or PPAs) needed to underwrite some investments have become harder to obtain. While we expect the PPA market will improve with the introduction of Contracts for Difference we are seeking powers to intervene in case the market does not provide routes to market that support independent investment, and are considering what further steps might be needed to ensure that all potential developers, including independent and smaller participants, can support the Government's objectives to decarbonise the electricity generation at least cost to consumers.
	For smaller suppliers, we have increased the threshold at which suppliers are required to participate in Government environmental and social schemes from 50,000 customers to 250,000 customers.

Electricity

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he plans to take to ensure that small suppliers will be treated equally under the electricity market capacity mechanism.

John Hayes: The payment model being developed for the capacity market requires suppliers to fund the costs of the mechanism. We are in the process of determining the exact arrangements and a number of options are under consideration. Each option has the common feature that suppliers’ share of costs would be in proportionate to a measure of their customers' electrical demand. This will ensure equitable treatment of all suppliers. We intend to make final proposals on cost apportionment by May 2013.

Energy: Prices

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent initiatives his Department has introduced to reduce the cost of consumer energy bills.

John Hayes: The Government are committed to helping energy consumers get their bills down by getting people paying the lowest possible tariffs, and to reducing the amount of energy that is wasted. We have introduced a number of measures recently to deliver this commitment, including:
	Putting clauses in the Energy Bill to help ensure consumers are on the lowest tariff for them;
	The Green Deal, launched in January 2013, will help British consumers stay warm for less by letting them pay for energy efficiency improvements through savings on their fuel bills, transforming homes over the coming decade and beyond;
	The new Energy Company Obligation, working alongside Green Deal, will provide considerable support to make homes more energy efficient and reach some 230,000 low income and vulnerable households each year;
	Providing direct support through the Warm Home Discount, which ensured over 1 million of the poorest pensioners automatically received a discount on their electricity bill of £130 before 31 December 2012;
	Providing local authorities and third sector organisations the opportunity to bid for up to £30 million of funding, through the Cheaper Energy Together scheme, to reduce the extent of fuel poverty in their area, primarily through the provision of support for improvements to the thermal efficiency of dwellings. This included £5 million of support for the most innovative local authority or third sector collective switching schemes.

Wind Power

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the expenditure of carbon during the (a) construction and (b) erection of wind turbines.

Gregory Barker: Wind power has one of the lowest carbon footprints, with the manufacturing and construction phases accounting for 98% of the total life cycle CO2 emissions. For onshore wind, the carbon footprint ranges between 8-20gCO2eq/kWh, taking into account not only emissions from generation of electricity but those incurred during the manufacture, construction and decommissioning phase:
	http://www.parliament.uk/documents/post/postpn268.pdf
	For offshore wind, two peer-reviewed studies have given footprints of between nine and 13 gCO2eq/kWh. By comparison, the average emissions from fossil fuelled power generation in the UK is around 850gCO2eq/kWh for coal, 590gCO2eq/kWh for oil and 370gCO2eq/kWh for gas:
	http://www.parliament.uk/documents/post/postpn_383-carbon-footprint-electricity-generation.pdf

Written Questions

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether the procedure and sign-off process for responding to parliamentary questions in his Department includes review by special advisers.

Gregory Barker: Ministers are responsible and accountable for all answers to parliamentary questions.
	Special advisers provide assistance and advice to Ministers on a range of issues in the Department of Energy and Climate Change, as outlined in the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Air Pollution

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the principal sources of emissions of (a) PM10 larger particulates and (b) PM2.5 fine particulates are; what the qualities of those emissions were in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: There are a wide range of sources of emissions to air of both coarse particles (PM10) and fine particles (PM2.5). The principal sources are residential heating, tyre and brake wear from road transport vehicles, power generation, diesel road and off-road engines and industrial processes. Tables providing details of emissions over the last five years from those source categories estimated as contributing more than 1% of national emissions in 2011 have been placed in the Library of the House.
	The UK has recently signed the revised Gothenburg Protocol to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe's Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution, which commits the UK to a 30% reduction in emissions of PM2.5 by 2020 (based on 2005 emissions).

Fisheries Regional Advisory Councils

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of whether the fishing industry advisory bodies he consults are representative; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: When seeking views on issues which could impact upon the UK fishing industry, DEFRA consults an extensive range of stakeholders including all segments of the catching sector, processors and retailers. I am satisfied that I listen to the broadest spectrum of fishing interests.

Food: Waste

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to reduce the levels of (a) domestic, (b) manufacturer and (c) retailer food waste.

Richard Benyon: We are helping consumers to reduce household food waste through the Waste and Resources Action Programme's “Love Food Hate Waste” campaign.
	We are also working with manufacturers and retailers to reduce food and packaging waste through the voluntary Courtauld Commitment. The second phase came to an end in December. We are currently working with the other UK Administrations, the Waste and Resources Action programme and signatories to develop a third phase of the agreement.

Horsemeat

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what reassurances he has sought from the Irish Government that horsemeat from the Irish Republic is not making its way into the food chain in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

David Heath: On 13 February the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs met Agriculture Ministers from Ireland, France, Romania, Luxembourg, Sweden and Poland to seek coordinated action across Europe for consumers so that they can have confidence in what they are buying.
	He was pleased to report that agreement was reached on a number of key issues in order to ensure that the current unacceptable situation with horsemeat cannot happen again, this includes a programme of DNA testing of beef products across the EU covering domestic and imported products, with first results by 15 April. In addition, both domestic and imported horsemeat will be tested for bute. The Secretary of State made a statement following this meeting on 13 February providing more details.

Sand and Gravel

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many tonnes of sand and gravel have been extracted in the UK in each of the last five years.

Nicholas Boles: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government.
	The Annual Minerals Raised Inquiry survey provides data on the sales of extracted minerals in Great Britain, and may be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-communities-and-local-government/series/minerals
	Sales of sand and gravel for construction purposes in Great Britain for the last five years for which data is available is:
	
		
			  Tonnes 
			 2011 55,015 
			 2010 54,330 
			 2009 55,709 
			 2008 72,127 
			 2007 78,501

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Buildings

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what occupation costs of each type are incurred for each property used by his Department.

Brandon Lewis: The Department for Communities and Local Government currently occupies 19 properties. These are listed in the following table:
	
		
			 £ 
			 Property name(1) Rent Rates Other(2) Total Net total (income from tenants deducted) 
			 Arpley House, Warrington 172,471 0 0 172,471 172,471 
			 Ashdown House, Hastings 85,859 14,509 9,393 109,761 109,761 
			 Bridge House, Guildford 820,344 320,210 323,712 1,464,266 850,679 
			 City Gate, Newcastle 1,519,510 572,500 673,321 2,765,331 350,833 
			 Cumberland Place, Nottingham 69,004 17,438 79,298 165,740 165,740 
			 Eastbrook, Cambridge 1,720,971 477,844 53,377 2,252,192 2,100,163 
			 Eland House, London 14,820,000 5,404,565 3,274,080 23,498,644 21,761,047 
			 Hempstead House, Hemel Hempstead 276,000 101,610 499,035 876,645 876,645 
			 Lateral, Leeds 1,160,794 644,147 453,106 2,258,047 894,784 
			 Longbrook House, Exeter 28,944 5,312 3,070 37,325 37,325 
			 Lysnoweth House, Truro 11,628 5,623 376 17,626 17,626 
			 Mast House, Plymouth 330,000 100,302 140,700 571,002 555,911 
			 Moreton in Marsh—Fire Experimental Unit 0 30,000 14,004 44,004 44,004 
			 Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester 78,000 0 0 78,000 78,000 
			 Princes Parade, Liverpool 37,651 16,430 26,536 80,617 80,617 
			 Rivergate, Bristol 1,892,436 696,160 865,878 3,454,474 1,354,452 
			 St Philips Place, Birmingham 2,082,430 613,720 591,985 3,288,135 1,991,104 
			 Temple Quay, Bristol 3,789,300 2,820,000 0 6,609,300 6,609,300 
			 Vulcan House, Sheffield 14,022 3,795 4,938 22,755 22,755 
			 (1) Figures provided are for financial year 2012-13 (2) ‘Other’ costs includes service charge (where applicable), building maintenance and operating costs and utilities. 
		
	
	Over the last 18 months the Department has had considerable success in reducing the cost of its estate through consolidation and targeted building disposals. This has seen the Department surrender four leasehold office properties through a combination of lease breaks and lease expiries as well as an administrative transfer of a property to another Government Department. This has generated net savings of £6.5 million net per annum over that period. The Department has also successfully sublet surplus space across their leasehold office estate over the same period, reducing the overall property costs by approximately £6.44 million via additional tenant income.
	I also refer my hon. Friend to my answer to her of 25 February 2013, Official Report, column 71-72W, on the further steps my Department will be taking to vacate and dispose of unnecessary and surplus property, and the action we have taken to sub-let office space to other organisations.

Fire and Rescue Services

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what (a) legislative, (b) policy and (c) regulatory changes were made in relation to the outsourcing of services by local fire and rescue authorities between May 1997 and April 2010; and if he will make a statement on his Department's policy in this regard.

Brandon Lewis: The last Administration introduced the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 which amended the provisions of the Fire Services Act 1947. The 2004 Act provided local fire and rescue authorities with the ability to outsource a wide range of its services in the execution of its functions, and many fire and rescue authorities now use these outsourcing powers. Ministers told the House then:
	‘the Bill is not about the wholesale privatisation of the fire and rescue service'
	(“Fire and Rescue Services Bill Deb” Official Report, 24 February 2004, column 173).
	In recent weeks, this canard has emerged from hibernation as it has been suggested that this Government is seeking to 'privatise' the fire service. I would like to state for the record that this is completely untrue.
	We are actually working to support local mutuals and co-operatives, following a bid from Cleveland Fire and Rescue Authority to set up a local employee-led mutual. The Labour councillor who is the local authority's chairman has described the claims of privatisation as 'scaremongering' (Darlington and Stockton Times, 12 February 2013).
	There has previously been support from across the political spectrum for co-operatives and mutuals in local government, and I note that the Communities and Local Government Select Committee recently called on the Government to do more to help support the development of mutuals and co-operatives in local government (“Mutual and co-operative approaches to delivering local services”, HC 112, December 2012).
	More information on the false alarm of ‘privatisation' can be found on my Department's website at:
	www.gov.uk/government/news/ministers-respond-to-false-alarm-of-fire-service-privatisation

Homelessness

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent estimate he has made of the number of homeless people by region in each year for which data is available.

Mark Prisk: Current and historic statistics on homelessness are published on our website at:
	www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-homelessness
	As outlined in the written ministerial statement of 18 September 2012, Official Report, column 32WS, my Department no longer publishes statistics by Government office region.
	We do publish information by local authority, which can be found at that link.

Housing: Construction

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects the first guarantee under the Housing Guarantee Scheme to be in place; and when he expects the first homes built under this scheme to be (a) started and (b) completed.

Mark Prisk: The Government issued an invitation to tender for delivery partner(s) interested in raising capital and on-lending it for qualifying projects for the two housing guarantees schemes on 31 January 2013. The invitation to tender seeks to have our delivery partners) in place and open for business by the end of April 2013. Potential delivery partners have been asked to set out their proposed timetable to be operational. Further detail on exact timings will be available once the delivery partner(s) have been appointed.

Housing: Construction

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) private sector and (b) public sector new housing starts there were in quarter 4 of 2012 in (i) Peterborough City Council area and (ii) each local authority in England; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: Statistics on house building starts by tenure in each local authority are published in the Department's live tables 253 (annual) and 253a (quarterly), which are available at the following link. Taken together, the housing association and local authority tenures comprise the social housing starts.
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-house-building

Housing: Construction

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department plans to introduce legislation giving deemed planning consent for housing applications in local authority areas which have not adopted local plans or do not have a five-year land supply by 2015; and if he will make a statement.

Nicholas Boles: The National Planning Policy Framework, published in March 2012 introduced a presumption in favour of sustainable development, which reinforces the role of the statutory development plan for an area. The presumption indicates that proposals in line with those plans should expect to be swiftly approved and that where the development plan is absent, silent or relevant policies are out of date, permission should be granted unless any adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits, when assessed against the policies in the framework taken as a whole; or where specific policies in the framework indicate development should be restricted(1).
	Where a local authority cannot identify a five-year supply of deliverable sites, the relevant policies for the supply of housing should not be considered up to date. In such cases, the decision taker should apply the presumption while taking into account any other material planning considerations. The Government have no plans to legislate to give deemed consent where there is not an up-to-date plan in place or a five-year housing supply.
	(1) For example, those policies relating to sites protected under the Birds and Habitats Directives (see paragraph 119) and/or designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest; land designated as Green Belt, Local Green Space, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Heritage Coast or within a National Park (or the Broads Authority); designated heritage assets; and locations at risk of flooding or coastal erosion.

Housing: Construction

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many single self-build properties were submitted for planning consent in England in (a) 2011 and (b) January 2013.

Nicholas Boles: The number of single self-build properties that have been submitted for planning consent in England is not centrally available.

Housing: Taxation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance he has given on local authorities charging non-refundable affordable housing levies on single self-build properties in advance of planning consent being granted.

Nicholas Boles: The Government's National Planning Policy Framework sets out requirements on the use of planning obligations. The legislation is contained within Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended).
	Local planning authorities are able to seek a Section 106 planning obligation, which may or may not include a contribution in respect of affordable housing, if a proposed development is considered to be otherwise both unacceptable in planning terms and incapable of being mitigated by a planning condition.
	Any such obligation must be fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind to the development.
	Planning obligations are subject to negotiation. A developer or landowner does not have to enter into a Section 106 obligation and any subsequent refusal of planning permission can be appealed to the Secretary of State.

Housing: Taxation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local authorities are requiring no refundable affordable housing levies in advance of planning consents being granted.

Nicholas Boles: The Government do not collect this information.
	Any affordable housing requirement in a Section 106 planning obligation is sought and applied locally by the local planning authority.

Housing: Taxation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the level of affordable housing levy charges on single self-build properties in 2013.

Nicholas Boles: I refer the hon. Member to my answers to him on 30 January 2013, Official Report, column 853W.

Housing: Taxation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations he has received on the effect of the affordable housing levy in (a) Leicestershire, (b) Northamptonshire and (c) Nottinghamshire on self-build properties.

Nicholas Boles: We receive and consider correspondence on many aspects of planning policy and that includes those dealing with the affordable housing requirements in Section 106 obligations.
	We are taking forward reforms in respect of Section 106 agreements, to help developers and landowners renegotiate economically unrealistic affordable housing requirements, and to deliver more housing and more affordable housing than would otherwise be the case.
	As outlined in my answer of 30 January 2013, Official Report, column 853W, the community infrastructure levy was a measure introduced under the last Administration. The Government already reformed the operation of the levy and continues to listen to issues raised by those charging and paying it.
	We are currently reviewing what further steps can be taken to ensure that self-build and genuine small-scale development is not adversely affected by the introduction of the levy.

Housing: Taxation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what is the highest affordable housing levy his Department has authorised local authorities to levy on single self-build properties of three bedrooms or less.

Nicholas Boles: The Government have no involvement in the application or amount of such charges. It is a matter for each local planning authority.
	I also refer the hon. Member to my answers to him on 30 January 2013, Official Report, column 853W, and my answer to him today, PQ 145550 on Section 106 Planning obligations.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes have been purchased under the New Buy scheme since its creation in (a) Barrow and Furness constituency, (b) Barrow in Furness, (c) South Lakeland and (d) Cumbria.

Mark Prisk: The Department does not produce data on how many homes have been purchased under the New Buy scheme since its creation in the Barrow and Furness constituency, Barrow in Furness, South Lakeland and Cumbria.
	However, I can refer the hon. Member to the map of NewBuy sales, based on post code districts, in the official statistics published on 26 February.
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/newbuy-guarantee-scheme-statistics-march-to-december-2012
	The Home Builders Federation, one of the Government's key partners in the development and operation of NewBuy, announced on 24 January that 3,000 reservations have been made under the scheme.

Property Rights

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what future plans he has on the right to light.

Nicholas Boles: “Rights to light” are important property rights and are separate from planning law.
	The role of the independent Law Commission is to ensure that the law is as fair, modern, simple and as cost-effective as possible. The Commission has been reviewing the law on rights to light and is now consulting on its provisional proposals. Its goal is to update and improve confusing and fragmented land law and legal rulings which date back to 1832.
	There is a positive role for constructive legal consolidation. For example, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 consolidated complex legislation on land boundaries that dated back to the 17(th) Century.
	The Commission will make its recommendations to the Government in November, after analysing the consultation responses. We will then consider the Commission's recommendations carefully and decide whether to ask them to take their review any further. Ultimately, any revision of the law is a decision for Parliament.
	Notwithstanding, the Government recognise how important natural light is to people and to local amenity and is absolutely committed to protecting householders’ rights.

Rented Housing

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people lived in rented accommodation in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire, (c) the East Midlands and (d) England and Wales in each of the last five years.

Don Foster: The data source for this is the English Housing survey. Due to the nature of sample surveys, figures can only be provided where sample sizes are large enough to make reliable estimates.
	England
	In England the number of households living in rental accommodation (either social or private) was approximately:
	
		
			  Number million 
			 2011-12 7.7 
			 2010-11 7.4 
			 2009-10 7.0 
			 2008-09 6.9 
			 2007-08 6.8 
		
	
	Wales
	Figures are not available for Wales from this Department.
	East Midlands
	As outlined in the written ministerial statement of 18 September 2012, Official Report, column 32WS, my Department no longer publishes statistics by Government office region. Notwithstanding, previously published figures can be found at:
	www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/tenure-trends-and-cross-tenure-analysis
	Nottinghamshire and Ashfield constituency
	Figures are not available at this geographical level.

Right to Buy Scheme: North East

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many tenants participated in the Right to Buy scheme for social housing since 2 April 2012 in (a) Newcastle upon Tyne Central constituency, (b) Newcastle upon Tyne and (c) the North East.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 1 March 2013
	Figures for local authority right to buy sales at local authority district level since April 2012 can be found in Live Table 691 on this page
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/right-to-buy-sales-in-england-2012-to-2013
	There were 64 right to buy sales in Newcastle metropolitan district between 2012-13 Q1 and Q3. This is up from 28 sales in 2011-12. Figures are collected at local authority level and not available at parliamentary constituency level.
	North East
	As outlined in the written ministerial statement of 18 September 2012, Official Report, column 32WS, my Department no longer publishes statistics by Government office region.

Right to Buy Scheme: West Midlands

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes have been purchased under the right to buy scheme in (a) the west midlands and (b) Birmingham in each year since 2008.

Mark Prisk: There were 619 right to buy and other council house sales in Birmingham between 2008-09 and 2011-12.
	As outlined in the written ministerial statement of 18 September 2012, Official Report, column 32WS, my Department no longer publishes statistics by Government office region.
	Notwithstanding, figures for local authority housing sales at local authority district level are published on our website at Live Table 648b:
	www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-social-housing-sales

Social Rented Housing

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in each Government region, how many new lettings of (a) one bedroomed socially rented housing units and (b) two bedroomed socially rented housing units were made to existing tenants in the socially rented sector, by region, within the last 12 months.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 23 October 2012
	As outlined in the written ministerial statement of 18 September 2012, Official Report, column 32WS, my Department no longer publishes statistics by Government office region.
	We do hold data by local authority, based on Continuous Recording of Lettings and Sales (CORE) figures; notwithstanding, some local authorities—including a number in London—do not provide us with their data.
	I would be happy to provide the incomplete local information that we do hold if the hon. Member wishes to ask a supplementary question.

Social Rented Housing

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of households in the social housing sector in each local authority area that have (a) one unused bedroom, (b) two unused bedrooms and (c) three unused bedrooms.

Mark Prisk: Statistics on occupancy ratings are available from the English Housing Survey published by DCLG. Due to the sample size of this survey it is not possible to provide local authority level estimates. The latest occupancy rating estimates for England, published in the survey 2011-12 headline report, show that 1.11 million homes in the social rented sector were classed as ‘1 above standard’, and a further 386,000 were classed as ‘2 or more above standard’ according to a measure known as ‘the bedroom Standard’. These figures are a three year average for 2009-10 to 2011-12.
	The English Housing Survey headline report also provides an estimate of overcrowding in the social rented sector, with 249,000 households (6.6%) falling into this category. This figure is also based on a three year average for 2009-10 to 2011-12.
	Administrative data collected from local authorities indicate that there were 1.8 million households on social housing waiting lists in England in 2011-12.
	Tackling unnecessary under-occupation in the social rented sector, and making better use of the finite social housing stock, will help reduce over-crowding and house more families in suitable accommodation.

Social Rented Housing

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average weekly rent is for a two bedroom property in the social sector in each (a) Broad Rental Market Area and (b) local authority.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 1 March 2013
	Average weekly rent data by local authority are available in the Department's Local Authority Housing Statistics. The data are available in Section H at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/local-authority-housing-statistics-data-returns-for-2011-to-2012

Translation Services

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in how many languages his Department produces its public documents.

Brandon Lewis: The default for my Department is that we do not now translate documents into foreign languages.
	We may, from time to time, translate documents into Braille (to assist the blind) or Welsh if required by the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011.

HEALTH

Abortion

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) cases have been referred to the Crown Prosecution Service, (b) prosecutions have been commenced, (c) random inspections of licensed abortion centres have taken place and (d) other follow-up steps have been taken following the Chief Medical Officer's letter to abortion providers sent in February 2012.

Anna Soubry: A number of referrals to police forces have been made since allegations of sex-selective abortions and concerns about pre-signing of HSA1 abortion notification forms were raised in February 2012. These referrals have been made by departmental officials and, in some cases, directly from national health service trusts. Decisions on prosecutions are still awaited from the Crown Prosecution Service.
	The following table provides details of inspections undertaken by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) between 1 April 2012 and 27 February 2013 of locations undertaking termination of pregnancy. The data collected by the CQC does not capture whether the inspections are unannounced but they have advised that, in the vast majority of cases, these inspections were unannounced.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health approves independent sector places to perform termination of pregnancy. All places were re-approved from 1 September 2012 using updated requirements contained in Interim Procedures for the Approval of Independent Sector Places for the Termination of Pregnancy (the Procedures). The updated version of the procedures sets out in greater detail the legal requirements around certification of abortions. As part of the re-approval process all places were required to describe the monitoring arrangements they had in place to ensure these requirements are being met. Later this year we will publicly consult on a further updated version of the procedures.
	
		
			  Inspection type(1) Number of inspections undertaken Number of locations 
			 2012-13 Scheduled 224 198 
			  Responsive—follow up 92 71 
			  Compliance review 26 26 
			  Responsive—concerning info 31 26 
			  Desk based follow up review 6 6 
			  Total 379 327 
			 Inspection types: Scheduled: these are inspections that are part of our planned inspection programme. Responsive follow up: these are follow up inspections where the previous inspection found non-compliance. Compliance Review: these are reviews of the evidence and information that we have, which will involve a site visit (inspection) to make a judgement on whether a provider is compliant with the essential standards. It is called a review rather than inspection because it involves more than just evidence and information obtained on inspection. A review can be thematic, e.g looking at particular standards across a number of different providers or it can encompass any number of essential standards. Responsive—concerning info: these are inspections carried out in response to concerns that CQC receive/are aware of. Desk based follow up review: these are inspections where a site visit is not necessary to check compliance (e.g. documentation check).

Ambulance Services: East of England

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish statistics on the proportion of ambulances or equivalent vehicles in the East of England which were with the caller within 19 minutes in each of the last 24 months.

Daniel Poulter: Information about the proportion of Category A (immediately life-threatening) calls received by East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust that resulted in a fully equipped ambulance vehicle (car or ambulance) arriving at the scene of the incident within 19 minutes is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust: proportion of responses to Category A calls within 19 minutes in 2011-12 and 2012-13 
			 Percentage 
			 Month: 2011-12 2012-13 
			 April 95.9 95.1 
			 May 95.6 94.4 
			 June 95.0 94.2 
			 July 94.8 95.1 
			 August 94.9 94.8 
			 September 94.9 92.8 
			 October 94.9 93.5 
			 November 94.9 94.3 
			 December 93.7 92.2 
			 January 95.0 n/a 
			 February 93.8 n/a 
			 March 95.3 n/a 
			 YTD(1) 94.9 94.0 
			 (1) Year to date. Notes: 1. Monthly data collected only since April 2011, so data for last 24 months is not available. 2. December 2012 is the most recent published data. Source: Ambulance System Indicators—UNIFY2

Cancer

Kevin Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how cancer networks will be integrated into the new commissioning system; [R]
	(2)  whether cancer networks will act as local branches of the strategic clinical networks for cancer; [R]
	(3)  what authority cancer networks will have. [R]

Daniel Poulter: Strategic clinical networks will bring together all commissioners and providers in the new health system to plan pathways of care which deliver the best outcomes for patients. Commissioners will be able to use networks as a source of clinical advice and. support in driving their quality improvement programmes locally. Cancer is a priority condition for the first strategic clinical networks being established from 1 April 2013. Cancer strategic clinical networks will be supported and funded through network support teams hosted by the NHS Commissioning Board. The support teams will cover defined geographical areas and will also support networks for other priority conditions or patient groups.
	Strategic clinical networks are non-statutory bodies. They will, however, have clear terms of reference and an annual accountability agreement with the NHS Commissioning Board for the programmes of quality improvement they carry out.

Coronavirus

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what procedures his Department has in place to contain an outbreak of coronovirus.

Daniel Poulter: Coronaviruses have been associated for many years with outbreaks and sporadic cases of the common cold during the winter and early spring every year. These viruses cause mild upper respiratory tract symptoms and rarely require hospitalisation.
	Over the last 10 years other coronaviruses have emerged which may be associated with severe symptoms and death. The procedures for containing potential outbreaks of these viruses follow the pattern established to deal with any outbreak of serious respiratory infection.
	The Health Protection Agency leads on the public health response through on-going surveillance which aims to rapidly detect and laboratory investigate possible cases. Once a confirmed case is identified strict isolation measures are implemented. Close contacts of confirmed cases are identified and followed up for the relevant period of time.
	If contacts develop a respiratory illness in this period of interest, they are asked to self-isolate (if in the community) or are isolated (if in hospital). These procedures were followed in response to recent United Kingdom cases of novel coronavirus.

Dietary Supplements

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on how many men have been admitted to hospital because of the effects of (a) diet supplements, (b) muscle boosters and (c) fat burners such as DNP, by age group.

Daniel Poulter: The information requested is not held centrally.

Doctors: Foreign Workers

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many doctors working in the NHS gained their doctorate abroad.

Daniel Poulter: The number of doctors working in the national health service who gained their doctorate abroad is not collected centrally.
	The annual work force census published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) shows the number of doctors in England and the country of their primary medical qualification. A doctor's country of postgraduate medical qualification is not recorded and is not shown in the census.
	The latest available census shows that as at 30 September 2011 the number of doctors in England who qualified outside the United Kingdom is 42,355 (full-time equivalent).
	The following table shows the number of doctors in England, by headcount and full- time equivalent, broken down to those who qualified within the UK, those who qualified within the remainder of the European economic area (EEA) and those who qualified outside the EEA.
	The next annual census will be published on 21 March 2013 and provides data as at 30 September 2012.
	
		
			 All doctors(1) working in England who qualified outside the UK, 2011 
			  Number(2) (headcount) and full-time equivalents 
			 England at 30 September 2011 HC FTE 
			 All doctors(1)   
			 Total 139,830 131,628 
			 of which:   
			 Qualified outside the UK 43,800 42,355 
			 Unknown country of qualification(3) 1,493 1,366 
			    
			 of which:   
			    
			 General practitioners   
			 Total 39,780 35,319 
			 of which:   
			 Qualified outside the UK 9,275 8,573 
			 Unknown country of qualification(3) 67 61 
			    
			 HCHS doctors(1)   
			 Total 100,050 96,310 
			 of which:   
			 Qualified outside of the UK 34,525 33,782 
			 Unknown country of qualification(3) 1,426 1,305 
			 ‘—’ denotes zero (1) Excludes medical hospital practitioners and medical clinical assistants, most of whom are GPs working part-time in hospitals. (2 )The new headcount methodology is not fully comparable with data for years prior to 2010 due to improvements that make it a more stringent count of absolute staff numbers. Further information on the headcount methodology is available in the census publication, Headcount totals are unlikely to equal the sum of components: http://www.ic.nhs.uk/searchcatalogue?productid=4876&topics=2%fWorkforce%2fStaff +numbers %2fMedical+and+dental+staff&sort=Relevance&size=10&page=1#top (3) Country of qualification is not known for these doctors. Country of qualification information is derived by linking census data to GMC information using the doctors GMC numbers; where this linkage cannot be fulfilled we state country of qualification as unknown. Notes: 1. Nationality is not available on the work force census. The figures here show doctors who received their primary medical qualification outside the UK, but this does not necessarily denote nationality 2. Medical Council. For staff in dental specialties, holding only a General Dental Council registration, the country of qualification is therefore not known. 3. GP data includes GP Providers, GP Others, GP Registrars and GP Retainers 4. Data Quality Missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality. Where changes impact on figures already published, this is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses. Source: HSCIC Medical and Dental Workforce Census and HSCIC GP Workforce Census

Doctors: Tax Avoidance

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of doctors paid through companies registered overseas.

Daniel Poulter: This information is not held centrally.

Drugs: Rehabilitation

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of people living in each local authority are currently engaged in treatment for substance abuse.

Daniel Poulter: Data on drug treatment are collected by person and by drug partnership, they are not collected by local authority area. Many drug partnership areas are the same as local authority areas, however there are some exceptions where they do not match local authority area.
	A table providing data on the numbers of people in treatment in each drugs partnership area in England in 2011-12, the most recent year that we have data for, has been placed in the Library.
	Data on the number of people in alcohol treatment are collected by local authority area and a table providing data on the numbers of people in treatment in each local authority area in England in 2011-12, the most recent year that we have data for, has been placed in the Library.

Electronic Cigarettes

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the safety of electronic cigarettes.

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has undertaken into the effectiveness of electronic cigarettes as a means of stopping smoking.

Norman Lamb: There are a number, of products on the market which claim to contain nicotine, such as electronic cigarettes, which are widely available but are not licensed medicines. Currently, any nicotine-containing product (NCP) which claims or implies that it can treat nicotine addiction is considered to be a medicinal product. This approach has allowed NCPs which do not make such claims to be used and sold without the safeguards built into the regulation of medicinal products.
	In March 2011, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) published the outcome of a public consultation on whether to bring all NCPs within the medicines licensing regime. The response to the consultation highlighted the need for further information to inform a decision. Since this time, the MHRA co-ordinated a programme of research to advise on:
	an investigation of the levels of nicotine which have a significant physiological effect through its pharmacological action;
	the nature, quality and safety of unlicensed NCPs;
	the actual use of unlicensed NCPs (excluding tobacco products) in the marketplace;
	the efficacy of unlicensed NCPs in smoking cessation; and
	modelling of the potential impact of bringing these products into medicines regulation on public health outcomes.
	The MHRA is currently bringing to a conclusion this period of scientific and market research with a view to a final decision on the application of medicines regulation in spring 2013.

Electronic Cigarettes

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the usefulness of electronic cigarettes in helping people to stop smoking;
	(2)  what steps his Department has taken to warn of the potential dangers of using electronic cigarettes and nicotine replacement treatments.

Norman Lamb: There are a number of products on the market which claim to contain nicotine, such as electronic cigarettes, which are widely available but are not licensed medicines. Currently, any nicotine-containing product (NCP) which claims or implies that it can treat nicotine addiction is considered to be a medicinal product. This approach has allowed NCPs which do not make such claims to be used and sold without the safeguards built into the regulation of medicinal products.
	In March 2011, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) published the outcome of a public consultation on whether to bring all NCPs within the medicines licensing regime. The response to the consultation highlighted the need for further information to inform a decision and the MHRA has co-ordinated a programme of research to advise on a final decision on the application of medicines regulation in spring 2013.
	Nicotine replacement therapies are licensed medicinal products that meet standards for quality, safety and efficacy. There is a well-established favourable benefit-to-risk balance for nicotine replacement therapies to relieve and/or prevent craving and withdrawal symptoms. It aids smokers wishing to cut down or quit, and as a safer alternative to smoking for smokers and those around them.
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence draft guidance on tobacco harm reduction only recommends use of licensed nicotine replacement therapy as little is known about the effectiveness, quality and safety of unlicensed NCPs, including electronic cigarettes.

Epilepsy

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to improve the provision of epilipsy services in (a) Peterborough, (b) the East of England and (c) England; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: Making the national health service more responsive to the needs of people with long-term conditions, including those with epilepsy is a key Government priority and we have committed to this in the NHS Mandate, the NHS Constitution and the NHS Outcomes Framework.
	The mandate, which sets out the Government's ambitions for the health service over the next two years, includes an objective for the NHS Commissioning Board (NHS CB) to make measurable progress towards making the NHS among the best in Europe at supporting people with ongoing health problems to live healthily and independently, with much better control over the care they receive. It is for the NHS CB to decide how they will carry this out; the Government will hold them to account for the outcomes they achieve.
	The NHS CB, in turn, will hold clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to account. While CCGs will have freedom to commission services tailored to the needs of their local populations, they will be accountable to the NHS CB through an annual performance assessment, which will include an assessment of how well the CCG has fulfilled its duty to act consistently with the mandate.
	Local commissioners have the primary responsibility for determining what steps are needed to improve the health of people with epilepsy in Peterborough and the East of England. To support local commissioners, the Department asked the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to develop Quality Standards covering epilepsy in young people and children and epilepsy in adults. These standards were published on 28 February.
	Clinical senates will have an advisory role in the new system, sharing their clinical expertise and knowledge of their geographical area with CCGs, health and wellbeing boards and the NHS CB so that they can make better informed decisions.
	The Strategic Clinical Network for Mental Health, Dementia and Neurological Conditions, which is being established by the NHS CB, will offer advice to CCGs and the NHS CB with a particular focus on supporting change and helping to improve care pathways using evidence-based practice. In addition, the NHS CB is appointing a national clinical director for chronic disability and neurological conditions who will consider what other steps could be taken at national level to support high quality local commissioning.

Food Poisoning

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of food poisoning were notified to his Department in each of the last five years.

Daniel Poulter: The Food Standards Agency has monitored changes in the number of laboratory-confirmed cases of infection of key foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, E.coli 0157 and Listeria monocytogenes since 2000 and norovirus since 2005.
	The number of laboratory-confirmed cases of these infections in the United Kingdom each year between 2008 and 2012 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 UK      
			 Salmonella 12,101 10,960 10,255 9,919 9,177 
			 Campylobacter 55,735 65,164 70,329 72,149 72,545 
			 E.coli 0157 1,252 1,319 1,082 1,492 1,255 
			 Listeria monocytogenes 208 235 177 164 184 
			 Norovirus 9,437 10,339 15,532 10,661 14,328 
			 Total 78,733 88,017 97,375 94,385 97,489 
			 Note: Figures for 2012 are provisional. Source: Health Protection Agency, Health Protection Scotland, Public Health Agency for Northern Ireland

Food Poisoning

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many attendances at accident and emergency have resulted from people eating misidentified food picked in the wild;
	(2)  how many cases of mushroom poisoning have occurred in each of the last five years; and how many of each such cases have been fatal.

Daniel Poulter: Information on attendances at accident and emergency (A&E) as a result of eating misidentified food is not held centrally. The Health and Social Care Information Centre are unable to identify these patients in hospital episode data as there is no specific diagnosis coding relating to people having eaten misidentified food.
	The following table shows a count of finished admission episodes (FAEs)(1) with a primary or secondary diagnosis of mushroom poisoning(2) for 2007-08 to 2011-12(3). The Department does not hold data on the number of fatalities as the Office for National Statistics is the source of mortality data. However/for the time period in question, none of the FAEs ended as a result of the death of the patient.
	
		
			 Activity in English national health service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			  FAEs 
			 2007-08 55 
			 2008-09 58 
			 2009-10 55 
			 2010-11 72 
			 2011-12 84 
			 (1) Finished admission episodes A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FAEs are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. (2) Number of episodes in which the patient had a (named) primary or secondary diagnosis The number of episodes where this diagnosis was recorded in any of the 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) primary and secondary diagnosis fields in a Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) record. Each episode is only counted once, even if the diagnosis is recorded in more than one diagnosis field of the record. ICD-10 Code: T62.0 Ingested mushrooms (3) Assessing growth through time (in-patients) HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, changes in activity may be due to changes in the provision of care. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre

Food: Testing

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the strategy of the Food Standards Agency is for ensuring the adequacy of future arrangements for the testing of food samples.

Daniel Poulter: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) works closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to draw up priorities each year for the FSA's £1.6 million national co-ordinated food sampling programme, carried out by local authorities. The priorities take into account consumer and public health protection, are risk and evidence based and intelligence-led. The priorities are published on the FSA's website.
	In addition, the FSA carries out its own programme of specific surveys. In recent years the FSA has prioritised the testing of foods that pose a risk to people's health and tackling problems in the food chain that can make people ill.

General Practitioners

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to issue guidance to clinical commissioning groups to assist in the identification of behaviour that could be deemed anti-competitive.

Daniel Poulter: Monitor and the NHS Commissioning Board are committed to working together to produce a joint Choice and Competition Framework that will provide guidance to both commissioners and providers on matters relating to competition and integration. Monitor will be consulting on its guidance, in accordance with a requirement set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2012.

Gosport War Memorial Hospital

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the audit report conducted in October 2002 by Professor Richard Baker into the number of deaths at Gosport War Memorial Hospital will be published.

Daniel Poulter: The Department will consider whether it is appropriate to release this report once the final inquest into the deaths at Gosport War Memorial hospital is complete.

Health Professions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) formal and (b) informal Government and professional rules and regulations are in place to control the number of entrants into the medical profession.

Daniel Poulter: The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) sets targets for total intakes of medical students by each medical school in England. These are based on the results of periodic reviews of the predicted required medical student numbers conducted by the Department and HEFCE. The last review took place in 2012 when it was decided to implement an overall 2% reduction in medical school intakes, to be introduced with the 2013 intake. Further reviews will take place on a regular basis.

Information Officers

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total cost was of running his Department's press office since 2010.

Daniel Poulter: The total spend for running the Department's Media Centre is in the following table:
	
		
			 Financial year Actual spend (£) 
			 2009-10 2,490,142.41 
			 2010-11 2,605,104.94 
		
	
	
		
			 2011-12 2,571,162.36 
			 2012-13 (1)— 
			 (1) Not yet available. 
		
	
	The total spend listed for each financial year includes staff and administration costs, along with all service charges, e.g. press cuttings contracts.

KPMG

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many contracts his Department has awarded to KPMG since 2010.

Daniel Poulter: Since May 2010 up to and including 31 January 2013, 22 contracts were awarded to KPMG by the core Department of Health and Connecting for Health.
	This compares to 60 equivalent contracts awarded to KPMG previously, between May 2008 to April 2010.

Medicine: Research

James Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much (a) his Department, (b) the Medical Research Council and (c) the National Institute for Health Research spent on research in each of the last five years; and what proportion of that money was spent on each (i) broad area of research and (ii) specific disease or condition.

Daniel Poulter: The Department's expenditure from central research and development revenue budgets from 2007-08 to 2011-12 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 £ million 
			  2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Policy Research Programme 28 37 34 40 31 
			 National Institute for Health Research 735 788 851 920 921 
			 Total 763 825 885 960 952 
		
	
	The Policy Research Programme (PRP) is a national research-funding programme within the Department of Health's Research, and Development Directorate. It commissions high quality research-based evidence across the full policy remit of the Department. The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) provides the framework through which the Department can position, maintain and manage the research, research staff and research infrastructure of the NHS in England as a national research facility.
	From 2008-09, spend on research funded directly by the NIHR has been categorised by Health Research Classification System (HRCS) health categories. NIHR expenditure on research infrastructure and systems where spend cannot be attributed to health categories is excluded. The following table shows NIHR spend in health categories as a proportion of total categorised spend and as a proportion of total revenue expenditure.
	
		
			 Percentage 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Health category Categorised NIHR Total NIHR revenue Categorised NIHR Total NIHR revenue Categorised NIHR Total NIHR revenue Categorised NIHR Total NIHR revenue 
			 Blood 1.5 0.6 1.0 0.6 1.2 0.7 1.5 0.9 
			 Cancer 22.2 8.8 20.0 11.9 18.2 11.0 17.7 11.3 
			 Cardiovascular 5.6 2.2 6.2 3.7 5.6 3.4 5.8 3.7 
			 Congenital Disorders 2.2 0.9 1.2 0.7 0.8 0.5 0.7 0.5 
			 Ear 0.3 0.1 0.4 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.4 0.3 
			 Eye 1.7 0.7 1.4 0.8 1.3 0.8 1.3 0.9 
			 Generic Health Relevance 18.9 7.5 23.0 13.7 26.0 15.7 26.4 16.9 
			 Infection 3.6 1.4 3.1 1.9 3.8 2.3 3.6 2.3 
			 Inflammatory and Immune System 2.3 0.9 2.1 1.3 2.4 1.4 2.2 1.4 
			 Injuries and Accidents 0.6 0.2 0.7 0.4 0.8 0.5 0.9 0.6 
			 Mental Health 8.9 3.5 7.9 4.7 9.0 5.4 9.0 5.8 
			 Metabolic and Endocrine 5.9 2.3 5.8 3.4 4.6 2.8 4.5 2.9 
			 Musculoskeletal 3.1 1.2 3.1 1.8 2.8 1.7 3.0 1.9 
			 N/A 0.1 0.0 0.5 0.3 1.4 0.9 0.1 0.0 
			 Neurological 7.7 3.1 5.8 3.5 5.4 3.3 5.5 3.5 
			 Oral and Gastrointestinal 2.4 1.0 3.3 2.0 3.3 2.0 3.5 2.2 
			 Other 0.9 0.4 0.8 0.5 0.4 0.2 0.5 0.3 
			 Renal and Urogenital 1.3 0.5 1.7 1.0 1.6 1.0 1.7 1.1 
			 Reproductive Health and Childbirth 3.0 1.2 3.8 2.2 3.4 2.1 3.8 2.4 
			 Respiratory 2.4 0.9 3.1 1.8 3.3 2.0 3.4 2.2 
			 Skin 1.0 0.4 1.0 0.6 0.8 0.5 0.9 0.6 
			 Stroke 4.2 1.6 4.0 2.4 3.8 2.3 3.5 2.2 
		
	
	
		
			 Total 100.0 39.7 100.0 59.7 100.0 60.4 100.0 63.9 
		
	
	The Medical Research Council (MRC) is funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. MRC expenditure by HRCS category is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 £ million 
			 Financial year 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Cancer 48 55 55 51 47 
			 Neurological, Mental 104 128 128 142 145 
			 Infection 101 100 106 125 113 
			 Blood, Cardiovascular, Stroke 32 39 41 37 40 
			 Metabolic and Endocrine 17 18 19 21 21 
			 Musculoskeletal 13 15 15 17 16 
			 Ear, Eye 9 11 13 15 13 
			 Reproductive Health 17 19 19 25 19 
			 Oral and Gastrointestinal 11 16 15 19 20 
			 Respiratory 7 13 13 12 14 
			 Renal and Urogenital 4 5 6 7 5 
			 Congenital 4 3 3 5 5 
			 Skin 1 3 3 3 2 
			 Inflammatory and Immune System 41 39 40 44 44 
			 Generic Health Relevance 119 137 167 143 148 
			 Others (Injuries and Accidents, Other and Uncoded) 51 19 14 0 36 
			 Total net expenditure 579 620 657 666 688

Mental Patients

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients admitted to NHS hospitals for mental health reasons were restrained by the police in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012; and what the ethnicity was of those patients.

Norman Lamb: This information is not held centrally.

NHS: Redundancy

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been made redundant by the NHS since May 2010.

Daniel Poulter: The number of people made redundant in the national health service since 1 May 2010 is estimated to be 14,650. This estimate is based on staff recorded on the Electronic Staff Record (ESR) Data Warehouse as having a reason for leaving as either voluntary or compulsory redundancy between 1 May 2010 and 30 September 2012. This is the latest data for which information is available.
	The ESR Data Warehouse is a monthly snap shot of the live ESR system. This is the human resources and payroll system that covers all NHS employees other than those working in general practice, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and some NHS staff who have transferred to local authorities, social enterprises.

Non-ionizing Radiation

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people, by age and gender, have been admitted to hospital because of skin damage caused by overexposure to UV rays in each of the last five years.

Daniel Poulter: Data on hospital admissions are collected by the Health and Social Care Information Centre. A diagnosis classification system (ICD-10) is used within the data and depending on how specific a request is, it is not always possible to identify every condition using these codes. Information relating to skin damage is not held centrally.

North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nursing staff were employed by the North Cheshire Hospitals Trust in each of the last five years.

Daniel Poulter: The information requested is not centrally held in the format requested. Information on the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff at the Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WHHFT) is shown in the following table. The information provided is as at 30 September in each of the years from 2007 to 2011, which is the latest available data.
	
		
			 Year (as at 30 September) FTE qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff at WHHFT 
			 2007 896 
			 2008 937 
			 2009 958 
			 2010 978 
			 2011 946 
			 Notes: 1. Full-time equivalent figures are rounded to the nearest whole number and figures exclude bank staff. 2. IC seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality where changes impact on figures already published. This is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses. Source: The Information Centre for heath and social care (IC), non-medical workforce census.

Organs: Donors

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of the population of Brigg and Goole constituency have joined the national organ register.

Daniel Poulter: NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) have advised that as at 26 February 2013 there were 24,819 people resident in the Brigg and Goole constituency on the NHS organ donor register. NHSBT does not hold population estimates by constituency and are unable to calculate the percentage requested.

Paediatrics

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which hospitals in England have consultant-delivered children’s and paediatric services.

Daniel Poulter: Information is not available in the format requested.
	However, a report by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, “Consultant Delivered Care: An evaluation of new ways of working in paediatrics” (April 2012) showed that 94.6% of paediatric and neonatal units that responded to their survey, provide consultant delivered care.
	The report is available at:
	www.rcpch.ac.uk/system/files/protected/page/CDC%20full%20report%2024%2004%2012%20V2.pdf

Pancreatic Cancer

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many patients with pancreatic cancer have been offered access to clinical trials in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to increase the level of research funding aimed at (a) pancreatic cancer and (b) other cancers.

Daniel Poulter: The Department is fully committed to clinical and applied research into cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment. The Department's National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) welcomes high quality funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including pancreatic cancer. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the scientific quality of the proposals made. In all disease areas, the amount of NIHR funding depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity.
	The National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) is a United Kingdom-wide partnership between the Government, charity and industry which promotes co-operation in cancer research among the 22 member organisations. An analysis of spend data submitted by NCRI partners covering the period from 2002 to 2011 is available on the NCRI website at:
	www.ncri.org.uk/includes/Publications/general/Data_package_11.xls
	This analysis includes data for all cancer research, for site-specific research and for individual sites including pancreatic cancer. Between 2002 and 2011 the proportion of site-specific funding spent on pancreatic cancer research almost doubled.
	In August 2011, the Government announced £800 million investment over five years in a series of NIHR biomedical research centres and units, including £61.5 million funding for the Royal Marsden Institute of Cancer Research Biomedical Research Centre, and £6.5 million funding for the Liverpool biomedical research unit in gastrointestinal disease (which will have a major focus on pancreatic cancer).
	Data are not available on the total number of patients with pancreatic cancer who have been offered access to clinical trials.
	The UK Clinical Research Network (CRN) Portfolio database records that, at 28 February 2013, 1,826 participants had been recruited to clinical trials (phases I to IV) in pancreatic cancer hosted by the CRN that began recruitment after February 2007.
	In addition, the NIHR funds 15 Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres in partnership with Cancer Research UK. Since 2007, these centres have supported 28 pancreatic cancer studies.
	The UK has the highest national per capita rate of cancer trial participation in the world.
	The NCRI Upper Gastrointestinal Clinical Studies Group is dedicated to developing a portfolio of research studies in this area and has a Pancreatic Cancer Subgroup. This subgroup has developed a number of internationally-run trials.

Parasitic Diseases

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken to educate the public on the dangers of liver fluke.

Daniel Poulter: Human infection with liver fluke in the United Kingdom appears to be extremely rare. According to the Health Protection Agency (HPA), based on specimens or patients referred to the Hospital for Tropical Diseases where the HPA Parasitology Reference Laboratory is based, there has only been one positive case so far this year. In 2012 there was one confirmed case.
	A risk factor for human infection is thought to be consumption of unwashed salad vegetables. Consumers are encouraged to wash vegetables such as salad preparations when they are unwashed. There is also a small risk associated with gathering and consumption of wild watercress. There is no Food Standards Agency (FSA) consumer advice specifically relating liver fluke.

Parasitic Diseases

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of liver fluke have been recorded in each of the last five years.

Daniel Poulter: The following table shows the number of hospital admissions with a primary or secondary diagnosis of liver fluke in England in 2007-08 to 2011-12. No information is available centrally on any cases which might have been dealt with in hospital out-patient departments or in primary care.
	
		
			 Finished admission episodes (FAEs)(1) with a primary or secondary diagnosis(2) of liver fluke in English national health service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			  FAEs 
			 2007-08 7 
			 2008-09 8 
			 2009-10 6 
			 2010-11 3 
			 2011-12 3 
			 (1) Finished admission episodes A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FAEs are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. (2) Number of episodes in which the patient had a primary or secondary diagnosis The number of episodes where this diagnosis was recorded in any of the 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) primary and secondary diagnosis fields in a Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) record. Each episode is only counted once, even if the diagnosis is recorded in more than one diagnosis field of the record. ICD-10 code for liver fluke are: B66.0 Opisthorchiasis Cat liver fluke B66.1 Clonorchiasis Chinese liver fluke disease Oriental liver fluke disease B66.3 Fascioliasis Sheep liver fluke disease (3) Data quality HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts in England and from some independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. Health and Social Care Information Centre liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre

School Milk

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what criteria childcare settings are required to meet to successfully claim the European School Milk Scheme subsidy; and when those criteria were set;
	(2)  which public authority sets the criteria that childcare settings must meet to claim the European School Milk Scheme subsidy.

David Heath: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
	The eligibility criteria for claiming Community aid is laid down in Commission Regulation (EC) No 657/2008 (as amended) which implements Article 102 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 (as amended).
	Briefly, those eligible for Community aid are pupils in regular attendance at an educational establishment, including nurseries and other pre-school establishments, primary and secondary schools. Pupils in further education colleges or at school holiday camps are excluded.
	The European Commission was given the responsibility of setting the criteria by the European Council. The relevant Regulations are Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 (as amended) and Commission Regulation (EC) No 657/2008 (as amended).

Smoking

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on stop smoking advertisements since 2010.

Daniel Poulter: The Department spent £3.62 million on stop smoking advertisements between 2010-12. The estimated spend for 2012-13 is £9.2 million.

Smoking

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS has spent on nicotine replacement treatments to help people stop smoking since 2010.

Daniel Poulter: The Health and Social Care Information Centre holds information showing the overall number of smoking cessation prescription items prescribed and dispensed in the community in England, and the corresponding net ingredient cost of these items. (The net ingredient cost is the basic cost of the drug and does not take account of discounts, dispensing costs, fees or prescription charge income).
	Prescriptions written in hospitals/clinics that are dispensed in the community, prescriptions dispensed in hospitals, dental prescribing and private prescriptions are not included this data set.
	It should be noted that Nicotine Replacement Therapies (NRTs) are not prescription only so the figures for this category may be an underestimate of actual use. NRTs bought over the counter or through other non-prescription routes eg smoking cessation clinics, will not have been captured.
	The figures relating to all smoking cessation prescription items dispensed in the community are published in the report “Statistics on NHS Stop Smoking Services: England”.
	Figures for 2009-10 to 2010-11 are published in the relevant annual reports and are summarised in the following table:
	
		
			 Prescription(1) costs for NHS Stop Smoking Services, 2007-08 to 2011-12—England 
			  Prescription net ingredient costs (£ million) 
			 2009-10 63.4 
			 2010-11 65.9 
			 2011-12 64.6 
			 (1 )Information on prescriptions for pharmacotherapies used to help people quit smoking is taken from PACT (Prescription Analysis and Cost) data from the Prescription Pricing Division (PPD) of the NHS Business Services Authority, accessed by the Health and Social Care Information Centre. PACT covers prescriptions prescribed by GPs, nurses, pharmacists and others in England and dispensed in the community in the UK. Prescriptions written in England but dispensed outside England are included. Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre, Lifestyles Statistics. 
		
	
	A copy of the report “Statistics on NHS Stop Smoking Services: England, April 2011 to March 2012” has been placed in the Library and is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/sss1112
	“Statistics on NHS Stop Smoking Services; England, April 2010 to March 2011” is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/sss1011
	“Statistics on NHS Stop Smoking Services: England, April 2009 to March 2010” is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/sss0910
	The publications “Statistics on NHS Stop Smoking Services: England, April 2009 to March 2010” and “Statistics on NHS Stop Smoking Services: England, April 2010 to March 2011” have already been placed in the Library.

Social Services: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken to improve social care services for people with neurological conditions in Peterborough constituency; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: Local authorities are responsible for providing or arranging social care services for their populations and will provide or arrange such care on the basis of need rather than on an individual having a particular diagnosis or condition.
	In July 2012, we published the “Caring for our future: reforming care and support” White Paper, which sets out the Government's vision for a comprehensive reform of the care and support system. Our aim is to achieve greater consistency in access to care and support and improve integration of different services, with the overall goal of improving people's wellbeing and supporting them to stay independent for as long as possible.
	In the reformed health and care system, health and wellbeing boards will play a critical role in bringing together local partners to improve health and care outcomes by delivering meaningful joint health and wellbeing strategies and maximising opportunities to integrate health and social care.
	Integrating health, social care and public health services around the needs of patients and local communities is key to improving an individual's experience of services, as well as driving up quality. Through the NHS Constitution and mandate to the NHS Commissioning Board (NHS CB) we have been clear that integrated care is a priority for the system.
	The mandate to the NHS CB includes an objective to drive better integration of care, which is centred around the whole person; co-ordinated around the needs of patients, families and carers and feels more 'joined up' to the individual, including at ‘transitions’. It is for the NHS CB to decide how they will carry this out; the Government will hold them account for the outcomes they achieve.
	Additionally, national and local bodies have been given statutory duties on integration through the Health and Social Care Act, and we are reinforcing these through the draft Care and Support Bill.

Speech Therapy

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many speech therapists were employed by the NHS in England in each of the last five years.

Daniel Poulter: The annual work force census published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre shows the number of qualified speech and language therapists working in the national health service in England at 30 September each year up to 2011. The next annual census will be published on 21 March 2013 and will provide the number of qualified speech and language therapists employed in 2012.
	The number of full-time equivalent qualified speech and language therapists working in the NHS in England from 2007 to 2011 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 NHS hospital and community health services: Qualified speech and language therapy staff in England as at 30 September each specified year 
			  Full-time equivalent 
			 2007 5,299 
			 2008 5,604 
			 2009 5,968 
			 2010 6,143 
			 2011 6,024 
			 Notes: 1. Full-time equivalent figures are rounded to the nearest whole number. 2. Data Quality: The Health and Social Care Information Centre seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality where changes impact on figures already published. This is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses. Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census

Tobacco: Retail Trade

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of the public health benefits of having standardised packaging for tobacco products;
	(2)  what his Department's policy is on introducing standardised packaging for tobacco products.

Daniel Poulter: The Department published the ‘Consultation on standardised packaging of tobacco Products’ in April 2012. A consultation-stage impact assessment was published alongside the consultation. A summary report of consultation responses will be published in due course.
	Any decisions to take further policy action on tobacco packaging will be taken only after full consideration is given to the consultation responses, evidence and other relevant information.

Tranquillisers

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people received prescription tranquillisers in each of the last 10 years; and how many of those prescriptions lasted more than (a) one month, (b) two months, (c) six months, (d) one year, (e) two years, (f) three years and (g) four years.

Norman Lamb: Information is not held centrally on the number of people prescribed particular medicines or the duration of treatment.
	Information is available on prescription items dispensed in the community in England. The following table provides figures for tranquilliser medicines in the latest full 10 years and the first three quarters of 2012, the latest available data, as defined by the British National Formulary section 4.1.2 Anxiolytics.
	
		
			 The number of prescription items for tranquilliser medicines, written in the United Kingdom and dispensed in the community, in England 
			  Items (thousand) 
			 2002 6,105.6 
			 2003 6,281.1 
			 2004 6,444.1 
			 2005 6,192.7 
			 2006 6,005.3 
			 2007 6,211.7 
			 2008 6,350.6 
			 2009 6,509.5 
			 2010 6,648.4 
			 2011 6,718.9 
			 2012 January to September 5,058.9 
			 Source: Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) system. The Health and Social Care Information Centre, Prescribing and Primary Care Services.

University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nursing staff were employed by University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust in each of the last five years; and what assessment he has made of likely nursing staff levels at the Trust in the next two years.

Daniel Poulter: The information requested is not centrally held in the format requested. Information on the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMB) is shown in the following table. The information provided is as at 30 September in each of the years from 2007 to 2011, which is the latest available data.
	
		
			 As at 30 September each year FTE qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff at UHMB 
			 2007 1,225 
			 2008 1,231 
			 2009 1,250 
			 2010 1,275 
			 2011 1,191 
			 Notes: 1. Full-time equivalent figures are rounded to the nearest whole number. 2. IC seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality where changes impact on figures already published. This is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses. Source: The Information Centre for health and social care (IC), non-medical workforce census. 
		
	
	National health service organisations, including UHMB, are independent employers in their own right and responsible for ensuring a work force appropriate to the needs of patients. As such, no central assessment has been made of likely nursing staff levels at UHMB in the next two years.

Written Questions

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the procedure and sign-off process for responding to parliamentary questions in his Department includes review by special advisers.

Daniel Poulter: Ministers are responsible and accountable for all answers to parliamentary questions. Special advisers may provide advice to Ministers, as outlined in the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Civil Disorder: Compensation

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what proportion of the monetary value of claims brought under the Riot (Damages) Act 1886 relating to public disorder in August 2011 has been paid;
	(2)  what the total value is of reimbursements made to police authorities under the Riot (Damages) Act 1886 since August 2011;
	(3)  with reference to the oral statement by the Prime Minister of 11 August 2011, Official Report, column 1053, on public disorder, what the total value is of payments made from the High Street Support Scheme since August 2011;
	(4)  with reference to the oral statement by the Prime Minister of 11 August 2011, Official Report, column 1053, on public disorder, how many claims have been made to the High Street Support Scheme since August 2011; and how many such claims have been paid out.

Damian Green: holding answer 28 February 2013
	Since August 2011, the total amount reimbursed by the Home Office to police authorities (now police and crime commissioners) under the Riot (Damages) Act 1886 is approximately £14.4 million. However this figure does not represent the full amount paid or offered by individual PCCs to meet uninsured claims and reimburse insurance companies, as a number of PCCs have yet to submit claims to the Home Office for reimbursement.
	The vast majority of people affected have received compensation:
	Of uninsured cases:
	PCCs currently have only 13 uninsured cases outstanding of the 577 cases they originally received from the Home Office bureau and direct from claimants (around 2%).
	In addition, 714 new claims were received from individuals who were originally insured but have since had their claim repudiated by their insurance company for reasons such as under insurance. 21 of these cases remain ongoing (about 3%).
	Of insured cases:
	Over 98% of household property damage claims have been settled by insurers.
	93% of small to medium-size businesses have received settlement or interim payments from insurers.
	99% of large commercial claims have received settlement or interim payments from insurers.
	Of those PCC payments to insurers:
	Of the 3,931 claims from insurance companies for reimbursement of costs, 338 remain (around 9% of original total).
	The High Street Support Scheme was jointly funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government, and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The Home Office does not collect data relating to this scheme.

Confiscation Orders

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for how many confiscation orders issued under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 which currently remain unenforced it is believed that the recipient offender lives overseas.

Jeremy Browne: This information is not held centrally.

Deportation

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been spent on returning (a) illegal migrants by nationality and (b) victims of trafficking to countries (i) within the EU and (ii) outside the EU in each of the last five years; and how many people were returned in each such category in each such year.

Mark Harper: The costs of removing illegal migrants and victims of trafficking are included within an aggregate cost of removing all foreign nationals from the United Kingdom. A detailed costing of the specified categories could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Volume information on all enforced removals by nationalities is published on the Home Office website link at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/immigration-asylum-research/immigration-tabs-q3-2012/removals3-q3-2012-tabs?view=Binary
	The UK Border Agency began recording information on victims of trafficking in a reportable format on 1 April 2009. From 1 April 2009 to 30 September 2012, a total of five confirmed victims of trafficking have been removed or voluntarily departed from the UK. All five individuals were non-EU nationals.

Fixed Penalties

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what the total number of unpaid penalty notice orders was that were cancelled in (a) England and Wales and (b) each police authority area in each year from 2002 to 2012; and what the total value was of those cancelled orders in each such year;
	(2)  what the total value is of unpaid penalty notice orders in (a) England and Wales and (b) by police authority area in each year from 2002 to 2012;
	(3)  how many penalty notice orders were (a) issued, (b) not paid within a 21 day payment window and (c) never paid in (i) England and Wales and (ii) by police authority area in each year from 2002 to 2012.

Jeremy Wright: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.
	The total number of Penalty Notices for Disorder (PNDs), with outcomes, issued to a person aged 16 and above for all offences, in each police force area in England and Wales, in each year from 2002 to 2011 (latest data available), can be viewed in a table which will be placed in the Library.
	The recipient of a PND has 21 days either to pay the penalty or seek a court hearing. If no action is taken within the 21 day period, a fine of one and half times the penalty amount is registered against the recipient of the notice by the courts. The courts are responsible for enforcing fines arising from unpaid PNDs, in the same way as any other unpaid fine.
	Information is not collated centrally on those PNDs that have been cancelled, the number or outstanding value of unpaid PNDs, or those that have been registered with Her Majesties Court Service for enforcement action.
	Statistics on PNDs issued in 2012 are planned for publication in May 2013.

Human Trafficking

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what role the Border Force has within the National Referral Mechanism since it became a separate operational command; and how this information has been communicated to Border Force staff and external agencies.

Mark Harper: The separation of Border Force from the UK Border Agency has not affected how Border Force deals with potential victims of trafficking under the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). Border Force is a NRM First Responder, staff are trained to identify indicators of trafficking and full guidance on how to refer into the NRM is available in operational instructions.

Immigration Controls

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average waiting time is for sponsor licence applications to be decided.

Mark Harper: holding answer 4 March 2013
	Based on the difference between application prepared date and the application despatch date in (Q4) 1 October 2012 to 31 December 2012, the average length of time taken to process a sponsor licence application was 17 calendar days.
	(1) The figure quoted has been derived from management information and is therefore provisional and subject to change.
	(2) Figure relates to sponsorship licence applications from organisations.
	(3) Figure relates to applications logged in the period from 1 October to 31 December 2012.
	(4) Processing time based on average number of calendar days between application logged and despatch dates.

Police

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many chief constables are currently suspended;
	(2)  how many deputy chief constables are currently suspended.

Damian Green: holding answer 1 March 2013
	According to the latest information available, there are two acting Chief Constables and one Deputy Chief Constable in England and Wales who are currently suspended.

Police

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of time on average (a) all police officers and (b) patrol officers spent on (i) incident-related paperwork, (ii) non-incident-related paperwork and (iii) patrol in each of the last three years.

Damian Green: This data is not collected centrally.

Police: Animals

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which animals are approved for use by UK police forces, and for which purpose.

Damian Green: Police forces use horses and dogs for a range of policing activities from search through to public order response. Their deployment and use is an operational matter for chief constables and is covered in professional practice guidance developed by the Association of Chief Police Officers. Any use of animals by the police must meet the welfare requirements of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

Police: Training

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers received training in an overseas country in each of the last five years.

Damian Green: The Home Office does not hold this information.

Prostitution

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 14 February 2013, Official Report, column 780W, on prostitution, how much has been confiscated by the police under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in raids on brothels in each of the last three years; how much of this money was retained by (a) the police and (b) the Crown Prosecution Service; and how much was made available to assist victims of trafficking to return home or compensate them.

Jeremy Browne: According to the Joint Asset Recovery Database, the total amount recorded as confiscated by the police relating to brothels, prostitution, pornography and pimps in each of the last three years is as follows:
	2009-10: £1,275,562.51
	2010-11: £1,182,670.49
	2011-12: £1,853,695.67.
	Under the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme, the amount returned to:
	(a) the police is £808,487
	(b) the Crown Prosecution Service is £808,487.
	The amount made available to victims of trafficking is not recorded centrally.

RAF Menwith Hill: Security

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost was to North Yorkshire Police of patrolling the American base at NSA Menwith Hill between 2000 and 2012.

Damian Green: It is not common practice for police forces to release information relating to ongoing operations, given the potential for operational compromise.

Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the preparedness of police forces to investigate the commission of offences under the provisions of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 following Royal Assent; and if she will make a statement.

Jeremy Browne: The Home Office worked closely with the Association of Chief Police Officers and the British Transport Police throughout the development of the Act to ensure that it provides the police with strong, but proportionate powers, in order to tackle unscrupulous scrap metal dealers. We will ensure that guidance on the new regulatory regime is issued to police forces before the summer recess, well in advance of the commencement of the legislation in October.

Sexual Offences: Southwark

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people reported sexual offences to the police in the London borough of Southwark in each year from 2007 to 2012.

Jeremy Browne: holding answer 4 March 2013
	The Home Office does not centrally collect information on how many reports of crime the police receive. Data are collected centrally on how many crimes the police record and are given in the following table:
	
		
			 Number of sexual offences recorded by the police in the London borough of Southwark, 2007-08 to 2011-12 
			 Southwark Number of sexual offences recorded by the police 
			 2007-08 344 
			 2008-09 419 
			 2009-10 469 
			 2010-11 499 
			 2011-12 504

Sexual Offences: Southwark

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the report of the Independent Police Complaints Commission on Southwark Sapphire Unit's local practices for the reporting and investigation of sexual offences, July 2008 to September 2009, published on 26 February 2013, what disciplinary action has been taken in relation to the cases outlined in that report.

Jeremy Browne: holding answer 4 March 2013
	Disciplinary action is a matter for the chief officer of the police force concerned. However, as published in their report, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has found a case to answer for gross misconduct by a detective sergeant, for which the final outcome is awaited. The IPCC also identified performance issues for two officers and a learning issue for a third.

Travel Requirements

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for travel documents are currently awaiting processing by the UK Border Agency; and what the average waiting time for such processing is.

Mark Harper: holding answer 28 February 2013
	Data on travel documents processing times are not held centrally. Local management information shows that at 26 February there are 8,531 travel document applications outstanding and a further 7,270 where the applicant has applied for both a Travel Document and a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP).
	Local management information shows that the average time to process an application is currently 85 days. This includes applications where the applicant has failed to apply for a BRP with their Travel Document (TD) and has subsequently been asked to enrol their biometrics to confirm their status before their TD application can be processed.

JUSTICE

Employment and Support Allowance: Appeals

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which Courts and Tribunal Service centres operate a Saturday service to hear appeals against decisions on entitlement for employment and support allowance; and which centres are planning to do so.

Helen Grant: The first-tier tribunal—social security and child support (SSCS), administered by Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), hears appeals against Department for Work and Pensions decisions on entitlement to employment and support allowance (ESA) decisions.
	All SSCS hearing venues hear appeals on a range of benefit types, including ESA. Saturday sittings are used on a flexible basis in a number of hearing venues to meet particular increases in demand for hearings. Appellants are asked before their case is listed if there are any days of the week, from Monday to Saturday, when they would be unable to attend a hearing.
	The following hearing venues are currently operating Saturday sittings:
	Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle, Darlington, Basildon, Enfield, London (Fox Court and Anchorage House), Nottingham, Sutton, Bexleyheath, Cardiff, Bridgend, Port Talbot and Liverpool.

Employment and Support Allowance: Appeals

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff were employed by the Courts and Tribunals Service to deal with appeals against decisions on entitlement to employment and support allowance in each month since June 2011 in each local authority area in England and Wales.

Helen Grant: The First-tier Tribunal—Social Security and Child Support (SSCS), administered by Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) hears appeals against Department for Work and Pensions decisions on entitlement to employment and support allowance (ESA) decisions.
	The SSCS Tribunal hears appeals on a range of benefits, of which ESA is one and SSCS Tribunal staff will be involved with processing the range of appeals heard by the tribunal. It is not therefore not possible to supply the numbers of staff employed to deal with appeals against decisions on entitlement to ESA.
	While I have previously provided information to the hon. Member on the numbers of staff employed in the SSCS Tribunal, increases in the number of staff working in multi-jurisdictional centres and moving between HMCTS offices supporting different jurisdictions mean that this data is no longer reliable. It is therefore not possible to supply the exact number of administrative staff employed in relation to the SSCS Tribunal without checking the specific duties of each individual member of staff, which would be at disproportionate cost. I have written to the hon. Member to explain the position in more detail.

Ministerial Policy Advisers

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what procedures are in place within his Department to deal with breaches of the code of conduct for special advisers.

Chris Grayling: Matters relating to Special Advisers are handled in accordance with the Ministerial Code, the Model Contract and Code of Conduct for Special Advisers.

Prisoner Escapes

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  on how many occasions offenders have failed to return from Release on Temporary Licence to their establishments in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many Release on Temporary Licence failures have been recorded at each prison establishment in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright: Time spent on release on temporary licence affords prisoners the opportunity to find work, re-establish family ties, reintegrate into the community and ensure housing needs are met. For long-term prisoners, in particular, these are essential components for successful resettlement. In 2011-12 there were around 488,000 temporary release licences issued, and the failure rate was very low at 0.08%.
	Table 1 provides details of the number of temporary release failures, by financial year and establishment between 2007-08 and 2011-12, the most recent period for which data is available. This table contains all failure types including those who have breached conditions of their licence, for example by consuming alcohol, as well as those who have failed to return. Table 2 provides the proportion of all licences which are failures.
	The number of prisoners who have failed to return is only available from April 2011. Between April 2011 and March 2012 there were 211 prisoners who failed to return to their establishment, this is 0.04% of all releases on temporary licence. Of these, 202 have subsequently been recaptured. On recapture, a prisoner who fails to return may be returned to closed conditions and referred to the police for prosecution or face internal adjudication.
	To provide the number of temporary release failures where the prisoner has failed to return prior to this date would require the manual interrogation of 1,083 temporary release records which could be done only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 Table 1: Temporary release failures, by establishment and financial year 
			 Establishment 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Total 
			 Ashfield 0 0 0 0 2 2 
			 Askham Grange 9 4 2 7 2 24 
			 Blantyre House 2 2 4 4 1 13 
			 Brixton 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Camp Hill 0 0 0 1 0 1 
			 Coldingley 0 0 0 0 2 2 
			 Cookham Wood 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Dartmoor 1 0 1 0 0 2 
			 Dorchester 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Downview 3 9 3 0 0 15 
			 Drake Hall 5 8 2 1 2 18 
			 East Sutton Park 6 0 3 1 2 12 
			 Eastwood Park 1 1 0 0 0 2 
			 Edmunds Hill 2 0 0 0 0 2 
			 Erlestoke 1 0 1 1 2 5 
			 Featherstone 0 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Ford 21 26 13 17 64 141 
			 Forest Bank 0 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Foston Hall 0 0 1 0 1 2 
			 Glen Parva 0 1 3 0 0 4 
			 Gloucester 0 1 0 0 0 1 
			 Grendon/Spring Hill 10 7 11 13 17 58 
			 Guys Marsh 0 1 0 0 0 1 
			 Hatfield/Moorland 13 8 9 20 20 70 
			 Haverigg 2 0 0 0 0 2 
			 Hewell 9 4 8 6 6 33 
			 Highpoint 0 1 1 1 1 4 
			 Hollesley Bay 17 19 11 6 14 67 
			 Holloway 0 1 0 0 0 1 
			 K1rkham 23 31 20 26 45 145 
			 Kirklevington Grange 12 8 17 19 15 71 
			 Latchmere House 3 13 10 7 4 37 
			 Leeds 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Lewes 0 1 0 0 0 1 
			 Leyhill 12 22 18 17 15 84 
			 Maidstone 1 1 0 0 0 2 
			 Morton Hall 0 1 0 0 0 1 
			 North Sea Camp 15 16 58 62 81 232 
			 Northallerton 0 0 0 0 2 2 
			 Norwich 1 3 1 4 1 10 
			 Onley 3 1 2 1 1 8 
		
	
	
		
			 Peterborough 4 3 2 1 1 11 
			 Ranby 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Reading 2 0 0 0 0 2 
			 Rochester 0 0 ! 0 0 1 
			 Send 0 1 0 1 1 3 
			 Shrewsbury 1 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Standford Hill 17 22 22 23 22 106 
			 Sudbury 31 42 28 29 50 180 
			 The Mount 0 2 2 1 5 10 
			 Thorn Cross 1 6 9 7 13 36 
			 Usk/Prescoed 8 8 6 3 5 30 
			 Wandsworth 1 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Wayland 0 0 0 1 0 1 
			 Wealstun 10 0 0 1 0 11 
			 Wellingborough 1 0 0 1 0 2 
			 Werrington 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Wetherby 0 3 0 1 0 4 
			 Winchester 0 0 0 1 1 2 
			 Wolds 1 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Wormwoods Scrubs 0 1 0 0 0 1 
			 Wymott 0 1 0 0 0 1 
			 Total 249 279 271 284 404 1487 
			 Note: These figures have been drawn from live administrative data systems which may be amended at any time. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: ROTL failures as a proportion of all licences, by financial year 
			 Financial year Temporary release failures as a proportion of all ROTLs (%) 
			 2007-08 0.06 
			 2008-09 0.06 
			 2009-10 0.06 
			 2010-11 0.07 
			 2011-12 0.08 
		
	
	Figures for the success rate of release on temporary licence since 1995 are provided in the Prison Digest contained in the Prison and Probation Trusts Performance Statistics. This can be found at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/statistics/prison-probation/prison-probation-performance-stats/prison-performance-digest-2011-12.xls

Prisoner Releases and Detentions

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners have been released from custody or detained in custody in error in each of the last four years.

Jeremy Wright: Since 2008 the number of releases in error from custody has decreased by 33%. The number of releases in error remains very small as a percentage of total discharges. Prisons are working hard to reduce the number of releases in error as far as this is possible. All incidents are subject to investigation. The majority of prisoners released in error are returned to custody quickly.
	The following table shows the number of prisoners released in error in each of the last four financial years.
	
		
			 Number of prisoners released in error, by financial year 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Total 
			 Releases in error from prisons 56 62 55 40 213 
			 Releases in error by escort contractors 7 6 8 2 23 
			 Total releases in error 63 68 63 42 236 
			 Number of prisoners discharged from determinate sentences 94,229 86,831 88,143 86,401 355,604 
			 Notes: 1. These figures have been drawn from live administrative data systems which may be amended at any time. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. 2. The number of releases in error may change should further incidents be reported. 
		
	
	To provide information about the number of prisoners reported in as having been detained in custody in error would involve the manual inspection of more than 44,000 incident records which could only be achieved at disproportionate cost.

Probation

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice in the event that he outsources probation tasks, whether he plans to close any probation offices.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice has recently consulted on plans for reforming the way in which offenders are rehabilitated in the community. The consultation closed on 22 February and we are considering the responses received.
	The public sector will be organised in the most efficient manner for delivery of its new responsibilities—this is likely to require fewer trusts or a different structure (such as a single national probation trust or direct delivery on behalf of the Secretary of State).
	We will consider the ongoing estates requirements of the public sector probation service as we develop our plans. We will publish our response to the consultation in due course.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the total cost to date has been to the British taxpayer of her Department's investment in the Bost Agri-Business Park project in Afghanistan; and if she will publish a breakdown of how the funds were allocated on this project.

Justine Greening: The UK invested £3.1 million in the development of Bost Agri-Business Park:
	£2 million to produce detailed construction designs; environmental examination and screening reports; cost estimates and specifications for tender documentation; and technical assistance to the Afghan implementing partner.
	£1.1 million on the first stage of construction.

Afghanistan

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 14 February 2013, Official Report, column 823W, on Afghanistan, if she will name the Deputy Director who authorised her Department's investment in the Bost Agri-Business Park.

Justine Greening: Deputy Director level approval in 2009 was in line with delegated authority limits at the time. Since September 2012 all decisions over £5 million are signed off by ministers.

Burma

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what the (a) gender, (b) ethnicity and (c) religion is of those children targeted by the Myanmar Education Consortium;
	(2)  in which states and regions of Burma the Myanmar Education Consortium will operate;
	(3)  what steps she is taking to ensure that Chin and Karenni children are reached by the Myanmar Education Consortium;
	(4)  what criteria her Department will use to select those monastic schools targeted for support by the Myanmar Education Consortium.

Alan Duncan: The Myanmar Education Consortium (MEC) will target the most marginalised children to ensure equity access to quality education. One of the first steps the MEC will take is to conduct a study to identify the greatest education needs across the country and the capacity of local partners. Criteria used for funding will then include poverty, access to schooling and educational attainment. Particular attention will be given to the needs of children in the ethnic states and where educational and development data indicates the greatest need, including in Chin and Karenni States.
	While this comprehensive assessment is undertaken a limited number of partners will be supported to work in Mandalay, Magway, Ayeyawaddy and Yangon regions and Mon, Kayin and Shan States. In addition, it is expected that all monastic schools will benefit in some way through the training and mentoring provided by the programme.

Burma

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of links between the monastic schools targeted for training support by the Myanmar Education Consortium and the Burmese Government's Ministries of Religious Affairs and Border Affairs.

Alan Duncan: Links between the Burmese Monastic School system and the Ministries of Religious Affairs and Border Affairs are limited. There is no role played by the Ministries in terms of quality assurance, school systems development or management. The Monastic Education Development Group (MEDG) that will be supported by the Myanmar Education Consortium is seeking to work more closely with the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Burma

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether the emergency component of the Myanmar Education Consortium to support children whose education has been disrupted by conflict in Kachin state will provide for internally-displaced children in areas under the control of the Kachin Independence Organisation as well as those in government-controlled areas.

Alan Duncan: As the Myanmar Education Consortium has just been launched, it is not possible to state precisely who will apply for grant funding in Kachin and in what areas they will be working. As some of the greatest needs are in the areas under the control of the Kachin Independence Organisation we will encourage applications from partners working effectively in these areas. DFID already provides support in Kachin to distribute teaching supplies and train teachers in camp schools under the control of the Kachin Independence Organisation.

Overseas Aid

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of her Department's programmes are delivered by UK-registered charities and their international subsidiaries and partner organisations.

Alan Duncan: In 2011-12 DFID delivered £336 million of bilateral assistance through UK Civil Society Organisations (CSOs). In 2011-12 DFID delivered a total of £4,204 million of bilateral assistance. Therefore, the proportion of bilateral assistance delivered through UK CSOs was 7.99%.
	More detail is available in the Statistics on International Development publication at:
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/About-us/How-we-measure-progress/Aid-Statistics/Statistics-on-International-Development-2012/SID-2012-Key-Statistics/
	For a breakdown of exactly which Civil Society Organisations received money from DFID please see:
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Documents/publications1/sid2012/Table19-CSOs.xls

Public Expenditure

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much her Department spent on programmes delivered in the UK in financial year 2012-13.

Alan Duncan: DFID spent £6.9 million by 28 February 2013 on programmes in the UK for the financial year 2012-13, down from £15.4 million in the financial year 2009-10.

Somalia

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  if she will issue a condemnation of the sentencing in Somalia of journalist Abdiaziz Abdinur Ibrahim and an unnamed rape victim to one year's imprisonment for fabricating a false claim of rape and insulting the state; and if she will make representations to the Somali Government to overturn their sentences;
	(2)  what proportion of UK aid to Somalia is allocated to fund the Somali police force; and what steps she is taking to encourage better treatment by Somali police of women who report cases of sexual assault and rape in that country.

Justine Greening: The UK was very concerned to hear about the conviction in this case, and the Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs both raised concerns personally with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud when he recently visited London. Other Ministers and our ambassador to Somalia continue to raise those concerns with the President and the Somali Government.
	It is vital that the rights of both the individuals involved in this case are respected, including the right to a fair and transparent judicial process and the right of appeal. And it is essential that victims of rape or sexual violence are able to report such crimes without recrimination.
	We also welcome Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon's announcement of the establishment of a task force to investigate the murder of journalists in Somalia and sexual violence against women.
	We will be watching the progress of the taskforce closely.
	The UK will be providing £4.5 million over the next three years to support development of the Somali police. This includes training and mentoring programmes to build the Somali criminal justice system's ability to properly investigate, prosecute and handle sexual and gender based crimes. We will work with the Federal Government of Somalia to build the capacity of their police and judiciary, including in these areas. These will form key components of the Somalia Conference in London in May.

Sudan

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid is being given to humanitarian and aid projects in Sudan where foreign aid workers have been expelled. [R]

Justine Greening: We are not aware of any foreign humanitarian aid workers who have recently been expelled from Sudan. We are however aware of a number of closures of humanitarian programmes run by international non-governmental organisations in eastern Sudan in 2012. We raised our deep concerns about these closures with a range of senior Government officials and representatives. Sudan has a history of expelling humanitarian workers. Despite this the UK is still delivering our aid and humanitarian programme across Sudan. For example we will provide 800,000 people access clean drinking sources and 3 million people with emergency health and nutrition-related programmes by 2015. My colleague, the Under-Secretary of State for International Development, the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Lynne Featherstone), visited Darfur in January and saw the impact our humanitarian programmes are having and how we are supporting communities to rebuild their lives and reduce their dependency on humanitarian support.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  when he expects electors who have not supplied personal identifiers to be removed from the electoral register under the provisions of the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013;
	(2)  when he plans to bring forward secondary legislation under the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013.

Chloe Smith: The Government expect the majority of existing electors to be automatically confirmed on the electoral register when the transition gets underway in summer 2014. The second round of data-matching pilots suggests that an average of 70% of existing electors can be ‘confirmed’ on the register through data-matching in this way, and therefore will not need to submit personal identifiers to become individually registered.
	Those who are not confirmed will be required to provide personal identifiers in order to remain registered under individual electoral registration (IER). Those applying for new registrations (such as new electors and home movers) will be required to supply personal identifiers.
	Our plan for non-IER entries to be removed from the register at the conclusion of the autumn 2015 canvass, in December 2015, and Ministers intend to lay an Order before Parliament under paragraph 28 of schedule 5 to the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 to this effect.
	Secondary legislation under the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 has already been brought forward: the draft Electoral Registration (Disclosure of Electoral Registers) Regulations 2013 and the draft Electoral Registration (Postponement of 2013 Annual Canvass) Order 2013 were laid on 25 January. Further secondary legislation on individual electoral registration will be brought forward later this year for implementation to begin in 2014.

CABINET OFFICE

Government Departments: Waste

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress has been made on the implementation of the recommendations made in Sir Philip Green's report into departmental waste; and if he will make a statement.

Chloe Smith: Since the publication of Sir Philip Green's Efficiency Review we have introduced a series of measures to improve public procurement policy and practice and to drive out waste and inefficiency.
	In procurement, the Government have increased the aggregation and standardisation of common goods and services to enable Government to leverage efficiencies of scale. In 2010-11, £2.5 billion of spend went through centrally negotiated GPS frameworks, saving Departments £357 million. In 2011-12, £3 billion of spend went through centrally negotiated GPS frameworks, saving Departments more than £420 million.
	We have introduced rigorous controls over spending in various areas. These controls led to savings on consultancy and contingent labour of more than £1.3 billion in 2010-11 and more than £1.7 billion in 2011-12. National Property Controls introduced by the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which stop signing of new leases and renewals of existing leases, reduced estate costs from May 2010 to September 2012 by £362 million, by exiting 1,070 buildings. In addition, by renegotiating deals with some of the largest suppliers to Government we saved £800 million in 2010-11, equivalent to 6% of a full year of spend with those suppliers.

Housing: Owner Occupation

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people own their own home in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire, (c) the east midlands and (d) England and Wales in each of the last five years.

Mark Prisk: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government.
	The information requested is as follows.
	England
	Figures for individuals are not available. Figures on the number of households in England classified as ‘owner occupier’ are available from the following web page:
	www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/tenure-trends-and-cross-tenure-analysis
	Wales
	Figures are not available for Wales from my Department.
	East midlands
	As outlined in the written ministerial statement of 18 September 2012, Official Report, Column 32WS, my Department no longer publishes statistics by Government office region. Notwithstanding, previously published figures can be found at the link above.
	Nottinghamshire and Ashfield constituency
	Figures are not available at this geographical level.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent estimate he has made of the number of quangos abolished since May 2010; and if he will make a statement on future planned progress on this issue.

Nick Hurd: To date, we have abolished over 130 bodies and merged over 150 bodies into fewer than 70, reducing the total number of public bodies by more than 220. The public bodies landscape will ultimately be reduced by around 300 by the end of the spending review period.
	The Government have also introduced a programme of Triennial Reviews which will continue to challenge whether the functions of each non-departmental public body need to exist and need to continue at arm's length from Government.

Olympic Games 2012: Voluntary Work

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 25 February 2013, Official Report, column 208W, on Olympic Games: voluntary work, how much was spent on the Games Maker voluntary programme at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: The recruitment, training and management of Games Makers was done by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG).

Working Hours

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what his most recent estimate is of the average number of hours worked by full-time workers who are (a) salaried and (b) paid by the hour, by gender.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated March 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what the most recent estimate is of the average number of hours worked by full-time workers who are (a) salaried and (b) paid by the hour, by gender. 145138
	Estimates of hours worked are derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). The following table shows estimates of the average actual weekly hours worked of full-time employees paid a fixed hourly rate and those not paid an hourly rate. It is not possible to differentiate salaried persons. All estimates are not seasonally adjusted.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	
		
			 Average actual weekly hours of work of full-time employees October to December 2012—Not seasonally adjusted 
			 United Kingdom (hours) 
			  All persons Men Women 
			 Paid a fixed hourly rate 36.1 37.9 33.1 
			 Not paid a fixed hourly rate(1) 37.4 39.1 34.8 
			 (1) Includes those salaried or paid in some other way. Source: Labour Force Survey (ONS)

Written Questions: Government Responses

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to his answer of 10 September 2012, Official Report, column 120W, on public sector: civil proceedings, and the answer to question 143994, when he expects to provide a substantive response.

Francis Maude: Further to the answer I gave my hon. Friend on 28 February 2013, Official Report, column 627W, I hope to be able to provide a full update on this matter shortly.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Child Maintenance

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were paying child support to the Child Support Agency for children who were living with them in the latest period for which figures are available.

Steve Webb: A non-resident parent may pay child maintenance for a child living with them where a shared care arrangement is in place.
	A shared care arrangement is defined as those cases where the qualifying child or children spend at least 52 nights per year with the non-resident parent.
	As at December 2012, there were 180,100 cases within the live and assessed caseload where a shared care arrangement was in place.
	A parent can also be liable for paying arrears of child maintenance if there is a role reversal in their case (that is, the parent in question was the non-resident parent for a period, but then became the child's primary carer and therefore the parent with care for child maintenance purposes).
	Decisions about whether and how to collect arrears in such cases are taken in light of all the circumstances of the case, and take full account of the welfare of all children affected by such decisions. We do not have precise figures for the number of cases that fall into this category, but we believe them to be small.

Child Maintenance

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of Child Support Agency cases (a) with a current liability and child maintenance arrears and (b) without a current liability have an arrears collection arrangement in place.

Steve Webb: In the quarter to December 2012, of cases with a current liability (positive weekly assessment amount) 86% also had child maintenance arrears. Over half of these cases owe less than £500 in child maintenance, broadly equivalent to arrears that could have built up while waiting for an initial calculation. All cases accrue arrears while a maintenance calculation is being carried out and this can be added to (to a limited extent) during the processing of changes of circumstances. Of these cases, 23% had an arrears collection arrangement in place. Around three-quarters of cases without an arrears arrangement in place are making a contribution towards ongoing liability.
	In the quarter to December 2012, of live cases without a current liability (that is, those cases where in most instances there is there is still a qualifying child but where the non-resident parent is not required to pay any on-going maintenance liability) 34% had an arrears collection arrangement in place. Around three-quarters of these cases without an arrears collection arrangement have a nil calculation and so are not currently in a position to pay child maintenance arrears.
	Investigations show that a proportion of arrears collections have been incorrectly recorded as regular maintenance, therefore more cases could be paying arrears than stated above.

Child Maintenance

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many Child Support Agency cases with child maintenance arrears have an arrears collection arrangement in place; and in what proportion of such cases the arrears collection arrangement was put in place (a) within the last six months, (b) between six months and a year ago, (c) between one and two years ago, (d) between two and three years ago and (e) more than three years ago.
	(2)  in what proportion of Child Support Agency cases with an arrears arrangement in place the arrears are being paid in accordance with the arrangement.

Steve Webb: As at December 2012, 34% of cases within the CSA live and assessed caseload with an arrears arrangement in place were paying in accordance with the arrangement. In a further 23% of cases, partial payments were being made towards the arrangement.
	These figures have been calculated by considering CS2 and CSCS system cases (the 2003 and 1993 schemes) with an arrears charge and subsequent arrears receipt in the quarter to December 2012, they do not include any cases that are processed clerically.
	We are unable to provide a breakdown of when the arrangements were put in place.

Child Maintenance

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to his Department's definition of potentially collectable child maintenance arrears in the Arrears and Compliance Strategy 2012-2017, published in January 2013, how recently a parent must have had an arrears collection arrangement put in place for their arrears to count as potentially collectable.

Steve Webb: The Arrears and Compliance Strategy 2012-2017 quotes arrears collectability figures which are sourced from the Client Fund Accounts 2011-12. A full definition of potentially collectable is available at page 25 of the Client Fund Accounts at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/cmec-client-funds-account-2011-12.pdf
	Potentially collectable arrears include arrears on cases which have had an arrears arrangement in place at any point in the previous six months but with no arrears payment in that time period. The Department's view of collectability is based on current arrears collection performance.
	Virtually all child support maintenance arrears remain legally collectable as long as they have not been formally written off. In December 2012 the Department obtained the power to write off arrears of child support maintenance in very specific circumstances, some examples are as follows:
	Where the non-resident parent has died and we cannot recover the arrears from their estate.
	Where the non-resident parent has previously been advised that no further action would ever be taken to collect the arrears.
	The Department has not yet written off any arrears.

Disability Living Allowance: Nottingham

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the number of persons in receipt of disability living allowance in (a) Nottingham South constituency and (b) Nottingham local authority area.

Esther McVey: Statistics on numbers of people in receipt of disability living allowance (DLA) in Nottingham South constituency and Nottingham local authority can be found at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?paqe=tabtool
	Guidance for users is available at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/tabtools/guidance.pdf

Employment and Support Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many employment and support allowance claimants have been referred to mandatory community benefit work placements in each month since the scheme began.

Mark Hoban: The majority of employment and support allowance claimants in the work related activity group (WRAG) with a prognosis of 12 months or less will be on the Work programme. However, we do not hold information on whether they're referred to a work placement or not, as its up to the provider to determine the most appropriate form of work related activity in the individual's circumstances. Employment and support allowance claimants in the WRAG can also be referred to work placements by Jobcentre Plus, but equally we do not hold information on these referrals.

Housing Benefit

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how the £50 million in his departmental budget allocated to discretionary housing payments for 2012-13 will be (a) spent and (b) allocated.

Steve Webb: The Government have provided £155 million towards discretionary housing payments for 2013/14. This will be allocated to local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales to offer further financial assistance to those who may be facing particular hardship or difficulties during the period of welfare reform.
	Local authorities are best placed to administer this fund, taking account of local issues.

Housing Benefit: Scotland

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what evidence base he used to establish that the £155 million allocated to Scotland for the discretionary housing payments fund will meet potential need once the housing benefit under-occupancy changes come into effect in April 2013.

Steve Webb: The Government's contribution for discretionary housing payments for local authorities in Scotland has risen from £3.9 million in 2012-13 to just over £10 million in 2013-14.
	£3 million of this is to mitigate the impact of the removal of the spare room subsidy.
	This was based on estimates that 80,000 (33%) of working age housing benefit recipients living in the social rented sector in Scotland will be affected.
	In addition rents tend to be lower in Scotland which means that the impact on those affected will be slightly smaller, £12 a week on average in Scotland compared with £14 a week on average in Great Britain as a whole.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what financial support will be provided for a social housing tenant on housing benefit moving from an under-occupied property to a smaller home.

Steve Webb: A social housing tenant moving from an under-occupied property to a smaller home may be eligible for financial help towards the cost of the move from Discretionary Housing Payments.
	We have trebled funding for Discretionary Housing Payments to £155 million for 2013-14. On top of the baseline funding of £20 million this includes an additional £30 million as the Government's contribution to support two specific groups, disabled people who live in specially adapted accommodation and foster carers.
	Tenants moving from under-occupied social sector housing to smaller accommodation may be provided with financial help towards the cost of moving by their landlord. In addition from 1 April 2013 some tenants may be able to get financial support towards the cost of moving under the new Local Welfare provision or from DWP by way of the Budgeting Loan scheme. Tenants who move earlier than that may be able to get help from the Community Care Grant scheme which comes to an end on 31 March.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of disabled people in (a) Warrington and (b) the North West who will be subject to the under-occupancy penalty.

Steve Webb: The information requested for Warrington is not available.
	Taking account of circumstances where either the claimant or the partner reports a Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) recognised disability, the Department estimates that there could be around 80,000 households in the north west affected by the removal of the spare room subsidy when it is introduced in 2013/14, However in circumstances where either the claimant or the partner are in receipt of disability living allowance (DLA) the Department estimates that there could be around 40,000 households in the north west affected by the removal of the spare room subsidy when it is introduced in 2013/14.
	There is likely to be a substantial overlap between these two groups.
	Notes:
	1. Figure rounded to the nearest 20,000.
	2. A benefit unit is defined to be single adult or a married or cohabiting couple and any dependent children.
	3. The definition of the DDA disabled group includes cases who do not currently have difficulties with daily activities but who have in the past or are expected to in the future or would do if they were not able to control symptoms with medication.
	4. The definition of the DLA group includes cases where either the claimant or partner are in receipt of any rate of either the care or mobility component of DLA.
	Source:
	DDA estimate—Policy Simulation Model, using 2009-10 reference data from the Family Resources Survey.
	DLA estimate—Policy Simulation Model, using 2008-09 and 2009-10 reference data from the Family Resources Survey, due to small sample sizes.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of families with a member in the armed forces who will be subject to the under-occupancy penalty in (a) Warrington and (b) the North West.

Steve Webb: The information requested is not available.
	The Department is unable to make an estimate for any geographic breakdown from survey data as the sample size for non-dependant armed services personnel residing with working age housing benefit claimants in the social sector is too small.
	As a result estimates would be subject to a high degree of sampling error.
	Furthermore, administrative data relating to employer details of non-dependants of housing benefit households is not gathered as it is not necessary for the administration of the benefit.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of foster carers in (a) Warrington and (b) the North West who will be subject to the under-occupancy penalty.

Steve Webb: The information requested is not available.
	We estimate that there are fewer than 5,000 claimants nationally who are foster carers who could potentially be affected by the removal of the spare room subsidy.
	Source:
	Indicative information from a variety of sources including a survey conducted by the Fostering Network in 2010, Department for Education and devolved administrations, Family Resources Survey

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost of exempting foster carers from the housing benefit under-occupancy changes due to come into effect in April 2013.

Steve Webb: The Department estimates that exempting foster carers from the removal of the spare room subsidy could cost up to £5 million a year.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of (a) the number of people likely to stop foster caring and (b) the potential effect on future recruitment of foster carers as a result of the housing benefit under-occupancy changes due to come into effect in April 2013.

Steve Webb: The information requested is not available.
	We estimate that there are fewer than 5,000 claimants who are foster carers who could potentially be affected by the removal of the spare room subsidy.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will establish any additional support arrangements other than discretionary housing payments for those affected by the forthcoming under occupancy penalty.

Steve Webb: A range of practical support is already being provided by both local authorities and housing providers to support those affected by the measure and ensure they understand what it means for them and the choices available to them.
	There are no plans at this stage to provide additional financial support other than discretionary housing payments for those affected by the forthcoming removal of the spare room subsidy.
	The measure will however be monitored and evaluated over a two-year period from April this year. Initial findings will be available in 2014 and the final report in late 2015.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many foster carers are living in social housing and in receipt of housing benefit.

Steve Webb: The information requested is not available.
	We estimate however that there are fewer than 5,000 claimants who are foster carers who could potentially be affected by the removal of the spare room subsidy.
	Source
	Indicative information from a variety of sources including a survey conducted by the Fostering Network in 2010, Department for Education and devolved Administrations, Family Resources Survey.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to ensure that a review of the under-occupancy penalty for social housing tenants is undertaken by April 2014; and if he will ensure this review includes consideration of the wider effect on the social housing providers and local authorities.

Steve Webb: The removal of the spare room subsidy will be monitored and evaluated over a two year period from April this year, with initial findings available in 2014 and a final report in late 2015. The evaluation will include small scale primary research with a range of local authorities, social landlords and voluntary organisations across England, Scotland and Wales.

Mayor of London

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has for the devolution of additional powers to the Mayor of London; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: None.

Pensioners: Poverty

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 12 February 2013, Official Report, column 643W, on pensioners, what assessment he has made under the material deprivation indicator of pensioner wellbeing in (a) Glasgow North West constituency, (b) Glasgow, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK in (i) 2011, (ii) 2012 and (iii) 2013 to date.

Steve Webb: Estimates of the numbers of pensioners in material deprivation are published in the households below average income series, and the poverty and income inequality in Scotland: 2010-11 publication.
	The smallest geographical breakdown available for the overall numbers in poverty is at Government Office Region level. Therefore, information is not available for (a) Glasgow north west constituency or (b) Glasgow, but is available for (c) Scotland and (d) the UK. The latest year of data which is available is for 2010/11. Therefore, information is not available for (a), (b), (d)(ii) and (d)(iii), but is available for (c)(i) and (d)(i).
	(c)(i) In Scotland in 2010/11 7% of pensioners aged 65 or over were materially deprived. This information can be found in Table A4 (on page 22) of the poverty and income inequality in Scotland: 2010-11 publication at:
	http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0039/00394961.pdf
	(d)(i) In 2010/11 in the UK, 800,000 pensioners aged 65 or over, or 9%, were materially deprived. This information can be found in Table 6.7tr (on page 212) of the households below average income series published at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/hbai/hbai2011/index.php? page=contents
	All estimates in these publications are based on survey data and are therefore subject to a degree of uncertainty and small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response.

Scottish Court Service

Anne Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions his Department has had with the Scottish Court Service (SCS) on the creation of an Information Sharing Gateway between the two organisations to help the SCS enforce fine collections; who was involved in such discussions; what was discussed; and what conclusion was reached.

Steve Webb: There have been no such discussions to date between DWP and the Scottish Courts Service.

Social Security Benefits: Greater London

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 7 February 2013, Official Report, column 403W, on social security benefits: Greater London, how many account managers from Jobcentre Plus will be assigned to (a) Bromley, (b) Croydon, (c) Enfield and (d) Haringey; and from what date such account managers will begin work.

Mark Hoban: Following the announcement of where the phased roll out of the benefit cap will begin, DWP assigned an account manager in each of Bromley, Croydon, Enfield and Haringey local authorities. The account managers have responsibility for co-ordinating activity between Jobcentre Plus and the local authorities to provide support for implementation of the benefit cap, including to those families who may be impacted.
	DWP and local authorities have been working jointly to support claimants who may be affected by the benefit cap. For example, in Haringey, DWP and local authority staff (housing, children services etc) are co-located and have been working in partnership to encourage and assist those potentially impacted by the cap into work; and/or provide the required support and opportunities to move them closer to employment or into more affordable accommodation.

Social Security Benefits: Lone Parents

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with (a) Jobcentre Plus and (b) Work Programme providers about increases in the number of lone parents being referred for benefit sanctions.

Mark Hoban: The number of lone parents who have received a benefit sanction while on jobseeker's allowance has increased largely in line with the overall number of lone parents in receipt of jobseeker's allowance. This has coincided with lone parent obligations which has gradually reduced the eligibility of lone parents for income support by the age of their youngest child from 16 to five years old.
	No specific discussions of these figures have been held with Work programme providers or Jobcentre Plus.
	Although not directly related to sanctions, the lone parent obligations evaluation is being used to ensure that lone parents get the support they need when they move off income support and claim either jobseeker's allowance or employment and support allowance. This has included refreshing, re-issuing and re-enforcing messages and information on lone parents for Jobcentre Plus advisers. Communication has recently been re-issued, signposting advisers to the information available to them to support lone parents with their job search, so that it can be tailored to their individual needs.

Social Security Benefits: Mesothelioma

Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for how long, on average, industrial disablement benefit is paid to mesothelioma claimants.

Mark Hoban: The information as requested is not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Social Security Benefits: Mesothelioma

Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many constant attendance allowance and exceptional severe disablement allowance awards were made in 2011-12; and how many such awards were made to people with mesothelioma.

Mark Hoban: The information as requested is not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Social Security Benefits: Mesothelioma

Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many industrial injuries disablement benefit claims were made for mesothelioma in 2011-12.

Mark Hoban: The information requested on how many Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefits claims were made to people with Mesothelioma in 2011-12 can be found at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=iidb

Social Security Benefits: Mothers

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to ensure that young mothers who receive benefits are educated in financial budgeting.

Mark Hoban: Launch Pad is a programme within the Jobcentre Plus Support Contract specifically for Lone Parents, Partners and Carers. This includes a module called Managing Personal Circumstances which covers Budget Issues and Debt Management.
	District Managers also have the discretion to use part of the District's Flexible Support Fund to procure training that would fill any gaps in provision to meet the needs of claimants, to enable them to enter sustained employment or move closer to the labour market.

State Retirement Pensions: Women

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many women affected by the increase in state pension age will not be eligible for the proposed flat rate pension in (a) England, (b) each parliamentary constituency and (c) each local authority area.

Steve Webb: The number of women in this position will depend on the implementation date for the proposed single-tier pension, which will be in April 2017 at the earliest.

Ministerial Travel

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on (a) the Government Car Service and (b) other taxi or car services for ministerial travel in each year since 2009-10; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: Information on departmental spend in relation to the Government Car Service is published in the annual written ministerial statement, details of which can be found within the Libraries of both Houses. The following provide links to the relevant publications.
	2009-10
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm101028/wmstext/101028m0001.htm#10102827000372
	2010-11
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201212/cmhansrd/cm120116/wmstext/120116m0001.htm#12011611000194
	2011-12
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm121220/wmstext/121220m0001.htm#12122056000216
	The charges recorded in the latest statement show a continuing reduction in the amount spent on official cars for Ministers. Costs to Departments have seen a 49% reduction in the latest figures when compared to those of the previous year and a 72% reduction when compared to the figures for April 2009 to March 2010.
	Details of the costs for 2012-13 will be published in the normal way later this year.
	The table gives details of this Department's spend on taxis since 2009-10. Prior to this Administration, Ministers were allocated a car each by GCS, but due to the need to observe the Working Time Directive, the use of taxis was high.
	From 2010 to 1 October 2012, GCS offered an 'ad hoc' service, which reduced the reliance on taxis and, therefore, money spent on taxis.
	From 1 October 2012, a combination of taxis and a departmental official vehicle have been used for official journeys; the car is available to all departmental officials, including Ministers. Details of costs and journeys undertaken by individuals in the official car are not held.
	
		
			  Total amount (£) 
			 2009-10 6,730.16 
			 2010-11 525.53 
			 2011-12 423.64 
			 2012-13 4,771.11

Universal Credit

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people who will be receiving universal credit that (a) do not have access to the internet and (b) do not use the internet in (i) Glasgow North West constituency, (ii) Glasgow, (iii) Scotland and (iv) the UK.

Mark Hoban: The Department has conducted a survey of current benefits and tax credit recipients which included an exploration of internet use, barriers to using the internet and the types of support people would find helpful.
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2011-2012/rrep800.pdf
	The survey found that 78% of respondents said that they already use the internet, including 48% who said they use it every day. These are UK wide statistics. The department does not have a regional view of these. Provision of local online access and support will be made available to claimants.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will implement in regulations his commitment that, when universal credit is introduced, direct payments to landlords will be provided where tenants are in arrears or judged to be vulnerable, or by some other means; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: Our approach to regulations for universal credit is for them to be simple and succinct rather than to specify the treatment of claimants in every possible circumstance.
	The draft Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Claims and Payments) Regulations 2013 include a power to enable DWP to make payments third parties, including landlords in certain circumstances. The guidelines for this type of decision are set out in the Personal Budgeting Support guidance rather than prescribed in the regulations to allow decisions to be flexible and responsive to a claimant's specific and often complex needs.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for each significant class of error occurring in the PAYE real time information pilot to date, how any universal credit award to be calculated on the basis of a record having such an error will be affected.

Mark Hoban: The first universal credit claims will not be made until April 2013 in the pathfinder area and so, as yet, no universal credit award has been made nor has any award calculation been made on the basis of a real time information pilot record, correct or erroneous.
	The RTI pilot will run until 5 April 2013. HMRC plan to complete their evaluation of the RTI pilot in summer 2013 and intend to publish a summary of the outcomes.
	When UC award calculations become possible, for the purposes of a particular universal credit assessment period RTI that is erroneous will be:
	on time and wrong;
	missing; or
	late
	For the universal credit pathfinder period the system will deal with these as follows:
	The effect of wrong data is that the system will calculate the payment based on the earnings reported by the employer, if the claimant disputes this there will be a mechanism for correcting this.
	If RTI is missing for one month the payment will be calculated on the basis of the earnings reported at the point of assessment. If there are two consecutive periods with no report of earnings the claimant will be contacted and required to self-report earnings.
	If RTI is submitted one UC assessment period later than it should have been, it will be taken into account in the period in which it is received.
	The effect of claimant and employer behaviour will be kept under review during the pathfinder period.

Work Capability Assessment

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which conditions are deemed unsuitable for calling to a work capability assessment under the Medical Services Agreement between his Department and Atos Heathcare.

Mark Hoban: There is no list of conditions that are deemed unsuitable for calling a claimant to a face to face Work Capability Assessment. An Atos healthcare professional reviews each case at a “filework” stage to determine whether the claimant meets the legislative criteria for limited capability for work or work related activity and whether they consider a home visit to be necessary for those claimants who do not meet the criteria who are called for a face to face assessment.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how his Department's release of Work Programme data reflects the commitments in the Open Public Services White Paper; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: The Department1 s release of Work Programme data reflects the commitments in the Open Public Services White Paper to make public services accountable to users and to the taxpayer.
	The Department for Work and Pensions publishes transparency indicators on the Work Programme and these can be found at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/corporate-publications/dwp-business-plan-2011-2015/business-plan-transparency/work-programme/
	The Department also publishes regular official statistical releases on the Work Programme. In November 2012 we published data covering referrals, attachments, job outcomes and sustainment payments made up until July 2012, which can be found at:
	http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=wp
	There is an online tabulation tool which allows the data to be broken down by: age, gender, disability indicator, ethnicity, primary health condition (for ESA customers), lone parent status (for JSA and IS claimants), Customer Payment Group. There is also the capacity to aggregate data by lower level geography; contract; contract package area; local authority; parliamentary constituency and JobCentre Plus district.
	In addition a data visualisation tool provides monthly cohort information allowing users to track the proportion of each cohort achieving a job outcome in the months following referral to the Work Programme.
	The next statistical release will take place in May 2013.

EDUCATION

Children: Diabetes

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance his Department provides to schools on support to be provided to children with diabetes; what feedback he has received from schools on that guidance; and what assessment he has made of the efficacy of that guidance.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education does not provide specific information or guidance to schools in relation to diabetes or any other condition that could affect pupils. General guidance on managing medicines in schools and early years setting is available and currently undergoing a review. It provides advice to schools on how to establish procedures and provides helpful links to organisations such as Diabetes UK, who are best placed to provide the specific advice that schools may need.
	In line with the increased autonomy that is afforded to schools, we fully expect them to understand and be aware of individual children's needs. Schools should be working closely with parents/carers and have a clear procedure, set out in their health care plan, with which staff are both familiar and comfortable.

Children: Health

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make it his policy to place a statutory duty on schools, local authorities and healthcare providers to work collaboratively to provide support to children in school with long-term health conditions.

Elizabeth Truss: We are not considering prescribing a statutory duty on schools, local authorities or health care providers.

Curriculum

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will support the UK Youth Parliament's A Curriculum for Life campaign.

Elizabeth Truss: We welcome the UK Youth Parliament's commitment to helping young people be heard on subjects they consider important including through the recent 'Curriculum for Life' campaign. Schools can cover the teaching of a wide range of life skills and often choose to do so through Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE). Schools are free to decide what to include in their PSHE programmes and should tailor the content of PSHE lessons to take account of the needs of their pupils.

First Aid: Education

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what representations his Department has received on the (a) nature and (b) effectiveness of the teaching of life-saving skills in schools; and what plans he has to review such representations;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the potential role of education in improving (a) knowledge of (i) cardiopulmonary resuscitation and (ii) other life-saving skills and (b) survival rates from cardiac arrests in England; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what steps he intends to take to improve the (a) quality and (b) prevalence of life-saving skills in schools.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answers 28 February 2013
	The Department received many representations from organisations and individuals during the Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) review consultation period and through correspondence including from St John Ambulance and the British Red Cross, among others. I took representations from Members in the Backbench Business Committee debate on life-saving skills in schools on Thursday 22 November 2012, and have a meeting scheduled with my hon. Friend the Member for Newton Abbot (Anne Marie Morris) and the hon. Member for Bolton West (Julie Hilling) on 6 March 2013 to discuss this issue.
	It is hard to evaluate the role and impact of such education, since there are many factors other than school-based provision which can influence pupils' behaviour. Even where impact on attitudes and knowledge can be demonstrated, there is often limited independent evidence of specific, effective, impact on behaviour.
	Life-saving skills can be covered in any part of the school curriculum but are often addressed as part of Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education. In PSHE at primary level the current non-statutory guidance outlines that pupils can be taught about basic emergency procedures and where to get help. At secondary level, pupils can develop the skills to cope with emergency situations that require basic first aid procedures, including, at Key Stage 4, resuscitation techniques.
	Teachers are free to use their professional judgment to decide what to include in their PSHE programmes and should tailor the content of PSHE lessons to take account of the needs of their pupils. Professional organisations such as the British Heart Foundation, the British Red Cross, and St John Ambulance provide resources and support to schools in this area and we encourage teachers to make use of their expertise.

Mayor of London

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for the devolution of additional powers to the Mayor of London; and if he will make a statement.

David Laws: The final report of the Mayor's Education Inquiry, published in October 2012, did not make any recommendations about devolving power to the Mayor of London. The Government welcomes the Mayor's contribution to education in London, but has no plans to devolve additional specific powers.

Primary Education

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many maintained primary schools in England have received a section 5 Ofsted inspection since the introduction of the new inspection framework in September 2012; and how many such schools have received a grading of (a) outstanding, (b) good, (c) satisfactory, (d) adequate and (e) inadequate.

David Laws: Official statistics about the outcomes of inspections which took place between 1 September 2012 and 31 December 2012 will be published on the Ofsted website on 7 March 2013. Between 1 September 2011 and 31 August 2012: 4,636 maintained primary schools in England received a section 5 Ofsted inspection. 428 (9%) of these schools received a grading of outstanding, 2,367 (51%) received a grading of good, 1,469 (32%) received a grading of satisfactory, and 372 (8%) received a grading of inadequate.

Procurement

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of procurement contracts offered by his Department has been advertised on the Contracts Finder website since that website's inception.

Elizabeth Truss: The total number of contracts advertised by the Department on the Contracts Finder website totals 51 contracts, two grants and six prior information notices since its inception in January 2011.
	The Department does not keep a central record of all advertised contracts and is unable to provide what proportion of procurements that this represents. An answer could be provided only at disproportionate costs.

Schools: Immigration

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what account his Department has taken of the Department for Communities and Local Government's estimates of inward migration from Romania and Bulgaria in the School Capacity Census.

David Laws: holding answer 27 February 2013
	The School Capacity Collection is an annual survey through which local authorities provide information on school places and pupil forecasts to the Department for Education. The forecasts that local authorities provide to the Department factor in a range of local demographic considerations, including inward migration, and will be informed by data from ONS.
	The 2012 School Capacity Collection data is available on the DFE website.
	http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/allstatistics/a00219162/school-capacity-2011-12

Schools: Playing Fields

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish the advice given by the Schools Playing Fields Advisory Panel in all cases where Ministers have overruled that advice in relation to sales of playing fields since June 2010.

David Laws: holding answer 5 September 2013
	The role of the Schools Playing Fields Advisory Panel is to provide independent advice to Ministers and the Secretary of State for Education as part of the decision making process on applications from local authorities and schools to dispose of school playing field land. In line with the practice established by the previous administration, we do not publish the panel's specific advice to Ministers on a case by case basis.
	We will only agree to the sale of school playing fields if the sports and curriculum needs of schools and their neighbouring schools can continue to be met. This Government have only approved sales if the school has closed, has merged, or if equal or better facilities are being put in their place.

Schools: Work Experience

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education in which local authority areas schools have withdrawn from offering children support in obtaining and sustaining work placements as part of Key Stage 4 preparation for transfer to post-16 learning.

Matthew Hancock: holding answer 27 February 2013
	Schools have never been required to provide information about work experience and, therefore, we do not hold the information requested. In line with the Department's commitment to reduce the number of requirements placed on schools, we have no plans to collect this information in future.
	Work-related learning can be a valuable part of a 14 to 16-year-olds' education, but this Department has taken the view that the form it takes is best decided by schools and not prescribed from the centre.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts and Culture

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2013, Official Report, column 543W, on arts and cultural services, if she will publish the results of her monitoring of the proposed changes in local authority spend on arts and culture by local authority area.

Edward Vaizey: The Department monitors general changes in local authority spend on arts and culture through a variety of means, rather than through one single monitoring report. The Department receives information on local authority spending on arts and culture from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). Ministers meet with the Local Government Association to receive views and advice on the general picture of local authority arts and culture. As I said in my answer of 27 February 2013, Official Report, column 543W, the Arts Council works closely on the ground with local authorities, and I meet regularly with the Chief Executive of the Arts Council. The Department also makes use of independent publicly-available information on local authority spending on the arts, for example, "Arts Development UK's" Local Authority Budget Settlement Review 2012.

Broadband Delivery UK

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 4 December 2012, Official Report, column 704W, on broadband delivery UK, who will administer the outstanding funding for broadband delivery, taken from the digital dividend, past 2015.

Edward Vaizey: No decisions have been made on who will administer funding for broadband delivery beyond 2015.

Cultural Heritage

Mark Spencer: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will take steps to protect (a) the Royal Worcester Museum and (b) other UK cultural assets which face being sold to meet pension liabilities.

Edward Vaizey: The Royal Worcester Museum does not receive grant funding from the Department, and reports show that there are no issues around the Worcester Porcelain Museum collections or pensions fund. The Royal Worcester Porcelain Museum is working with partners such as the Heritage Lottery Fund as it looks to develop the site around the museum as a cultural quarter now that the factory has closed.
	The Department is aware of the current issues on pension liabilities faced by museums. I continue to work proactively with a number of partners including Arts Council England, the Art Fund, local authorities, and interested parties to find a sustainable future for the Wedgwood collection and the museum. Following the recent pension issues with the Wedgwood Museum, Arts Council England has, through the Association of Independent Museums, commissioned legal advice on any actions independent museums should take to ensure the legal security of their collections. This piece of work is currently being completed.
	The Arts Council England is working with museums to establish best practices by implementing and overseeing the Accreditation Standard, the Designation Scheme and museum development functions, and continues to monitor the performance of museums and provide advice on best practice.

Sports: Children

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to encourage participation in sports by children of parents of South Asian origin.

Hugh Robertson: As part of the Youth and Community Sport strategy, Sport England is focussed on raising the percentage of 14 to 25-year-olds playing sport once a week and reducing the proportion dropping out of sport.
	Participation in cricket has traditionally been very strong within South Asian, predominantly Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan communities and Sport England has provided investment to the English Cricket Board in order for them to engage even more players over the next four years to create Inner City Cricket Partnerships. These partnerships bring together stakeholders and leaders within the South Asian community. This programme will be operational in Birmingham and Leicester by April 2013. Sport England has also invested just under £1 million to the Cricket Foundation's national StreetChance scheme which provides exciting variations of the game and has proved successful in increasing participation in the sport. To date 25,000 people have participated in the programme, with 80% of participants from an Asian background.

Written Questions

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether the procedure and sign-off process for responding to parliamentary questions in her Department includes review by special advisers.

Hugh Robertson: Ministers are responsible and accountable for all answers to parliamentary questions. Special advisers may provide advice to Ministers, as outlined in the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers.